


Star Trek One Shots and Imagines

by invisame



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2020-01-07 13:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 35,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18411998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invisame/pseuds/invisame
Summary: A collection of my various Star Trek stories featuring the characters from the new movies. Primarily Spock, Kirk, Bones and Scotty. Most are x reader. Enjoy.





	1. Rescue Me - Scotty (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> This part and the next contain mentions of abuse. Do not read if this bothers you.

"Y/N!"

You groaned as you heard the familiar voice calling your name. At present, you were jammed into an extremely tight and uncomfortable position trying to fix some wiring that had randomly decided to quit working. Yes, you should have been off shift an hour ago but that didn't mean your boyfriend had to come looking for you. You weren't twelve years old.

He yelled your name again and you rolled your eyes but otherwise ignored him. You had a job to do. 

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Klein, Lieutenant (y/l/n) is working at the moment. Is there something I can help ye with?" You'd never been happier to hear your boss Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott's thick Scottish accent. 

"She was supposed to be off an hour ago, Scotty," Daniel snapped. 

"That's Chief Engineer Scott to you, lad." You could almost picture the anger on Scotty's face. "The lass will be along when she's finished. Now kindly leave my engine room before I have ye escorted out."

You continued to work on the wiring problem as you heard your boss muttering to himself. "Stupid kid. He doesn't treat her right. What does she see in him anyway?"

Your lips twitched as you tried not to smile and you poked your head out of your hole. "I can hear you, you know."

Scotty's cheeks flushed red and he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I'm sorry, lassie. I just worry about ye is all."

"It's fine, Scotty." You started to wiggle your way out of the tight space. He rushed forward and grasped your wrists in his hands to help you out. "It should be fixed. Give it a shot."

He pressed a few buttons on a nearby control panel then turned back to you with a smile. "I knew if anyone could do it, it would be you, lassie."

You arched a brow. "Pretty sure you could have fixed it, too."

He scoffed. "I wasn't squeezing in there."

After narrowing your eyes at him and earning a chuckle in response, you held out your hand. "Come on, boss man. Even you have to eat, and I'm starving."

***

You had lingered over your meal, enjoying Scotty's company. Eventually, you'd made your excuses and headed for the quarters you shared with Daniel. If you were honest, this was the only reason you hadn't broken up with him. You were dating before the mission and had been given joint quarters. There were no empty rooms for you to move to if you left him. Served you right for letting him talk you into it in the first place. Dating someone was entirely different than living with them.

The door to your quarters opened and you stepped inside. "Daniel?" you called but got no response. You breathed out a sigh of relief and rubbed a hand across your forehead. He worked in security so he'd probably been called in for something. You really needed to talk to Jim about different quarters. Maybe you could bunk with one of the other engineers. Sleeping on the couch never bothered you. 

"I see you found your way home finally." 

The voice made you jump and you turned to see Daniel leaning against the doorway of your bedroom. You pressed your hand against your chest and willed your heartbeat to slow down. "You scared me. Why didn't you answer when I called?"

He shrugged one shoulder and moved toward you. "Why didn't you come home when your shift ended?"

You rolled your eyes and tried to step past him but he grabbed your upper arm. When you tried to remove yourself from his grip, it tightened. "That hurts, Daniel. Let go."

His grip tightened further and it was obvious you'd be bruised in the morning. He pulled you against him and sneered down at you. "Imagine my surprise when I went back to engineering an hour ago and you were nowhere to be found."

"I went to eat. I was hungry." You clenched your teeth and the muscle in your jaw twitched. 

Without warning, Daniel backhanded you with his free hand. Your head snapped to the side and you tasted blood as your lip split. "Liar!" Fear slammed through you. He might be an asshole, but he'd never hit you before. 

"What are you doing? What's wrong with you?"

His angry face was inches from yours as he stared you down with pure hatred in his eyes. Had this been coming all along but you had been so busy ignoring him, you just didn't see it? "You are only on this ship because of me, but you don't seem to remember that."

He shook you before punching you and throwing you to the floor. His foot drove into your side as he stormed past you to the door. "I want you out, (y/n). I don't care where you go as long as it isn't here."

You laid on the floor for several minutes and tears streamed down your face as you tried to make sense of what had just happened. Your cheek throbbed where he'd punched you and your sore ribs made it hard to breathe. Briefly you thought about calling security but he worked with them, was friends with most of them. What if they didn't believe you? 

Finally, you pushed yourself to your feet. After stumbling into the kitchen, you pulled the small med kit from under the sink. Breaking the seal on the cold pack, you pressed it against your cheek. Stepping out of your room, you kept your head down as you headed down the hallway to the lift. You just kept moving, trying not to think too much about what had just happened. Hot tears continued to run down your cheeks and drip onto the floor but you ignored them and pushed yourself forward.

After arriving on the floor with the med bay you headed down the hall past it. A trip in there and everyone on the ship would know what had happened by the end of the next day. No, your destination was your favorite grumpy doctor's private quarters. Thank God you were friends with Scotty and by default had become friends with Jim, Bones and Spock. 

It was late so you weren't surprised when there was no response to your initial knock. You tried again hoping he wasn't somewhere else, though it was doubtful this time of night. Finally, you heard muttering on the other side of the door.

"This better be important, damn it." His eyes were half-closed and his hair stuck up telling you he was sleeping before you interrupted. He frowned when he saw you. "(y/n)?" His eyes widened as he absorbed that you were injured. He grabbed your arm to pull you into his room and you grimaced as he found the spot Daniel had hold of earlier. 

"Sorry. Sorry," he muttered and instead put a hand on your shoulder to steer you inside and over to the sofa. He pointed at you. "Stay there."

You rolled your eyes. Where did he think you were going to go? You tossed the cold pack on the table in front of you and leaned back to relieve the pressure on your ribs. Your eyelids drifted shut of their own accord. Yes, you hurt, but you were also exhausted, mentally and physically.

You jumped when Bones lightly ran his fingers over the side of your face. "Sorry," he grumbled again. 

You cracked open your eyes to glare at him. He'd managed to flatten down his hair at some point. He scowled as he looked over your injuries. "Take off your top."

"Bones," you said in a faux shocked voice, "I had no idea you thought of me that way."

His face burned red even as he rolled his eyes at you. "Damn it, (y/n). I'm a doctor not some pervert."

You chuckled then winced at the pain that lanced your ribs. "Easy, Bones. It was a joke." With his help you managed to peel the uniform top off, leaving you in the sports bra you wore underneath. He froze and you turned your head to the side. "What's wrong, Doc?"

He swallowed and pursed his lips as he pointed at your arm. "Those bruises are in the shape of fingers."

Both of your brows arched. "What did you think happened to me?"

"Well, not that." He pulled out a scanner and ran it over your arm, side and face. "No broken bones. Your ribs are bruised, though. Just stay put and let me patch you up."

Instead of getting back in his med kit, he walked over to the comm unit on the wall. "McCoy to Kirk. Meet me in my quarters asap."

You groaned. "Really?" He walked back over to you still wearing that familiar scowl. 

"You think I'm not going to tell the captain when one of his crew shows up in my quarters after getting in a fight with someone?"

A brief thought of correcting him flashed through your mind, but you'd rather only explain once. So instead you said, "I think you'd most likely report it to him in the morning instead of waking him in the middle of the night."

He nodded once in agreement as he finished sealing the skin on your lip together. "Fair enough. You think I'm not going to tell Jim when one of his friends shows up at my quarters bleeding and bruised?"

There was knock at his door. "Open up, Bones." Jim's voice was impatient and worried.

"Just a minute," Bones called. He jogged into his room and came back with a t-shirt. He helped you slide it on as Jim knocked on the door again before opening it with his override.

You were fully covered by the time he stepped into the room. 

"What's going on, Bones?" His eyes fell on you and widened. "(y/n)? What the hell happened to you?"

You sighed. "I think I need a drink for this."

Bones disappeared for a minute then came back with a bottle and three glasses. He poured a drink for all of you than they sat facing you. 

Taking a deep breath, you dropped your head and twisted the glass around in your hands. After a moment, you looked back up at your two friends. "Daniel."

It was all you said but the looks on their faces told you it was enough.

"Why?" Jim asked after a long moment of silence.

You shrugged, still not really understanding it yourself. 

"I'll kill him," Bones spat out. 

Jim just looked at him before pulling out his communicator. "Kirk to security."

"Security here, Captain."

"Find Lieutenant Klein and put him in the brig."

"May I ask why, Captain?"

Jim frowned. "Was my order in some way unclear?"

"N-no, sir." 

Suddenly feeling extremely tired, you wiped a hand down your face and yawned. You glanced at Bones. "Mind if I crash on your couch?"

His scowl deepened. "You are not sleeping on the couch with those ribs. Go get in the bed."

"Why, Doctor, I thought you were a gentleman," you said with a faux southern accent. 

He rolled his eyes. "Get going, princess."

You finished your drink and put your glass on the table. Jim hopped up to help you get to your feet. You gave them both a little wave as you shuffled to the bedroom. 

"What the hell is wrong with her ribs?" you heard Jim hiss as you slid under the covers. 

"I think the better question would be which one of us is going to tell Scotty," Bones responded, making you frown.

"Shit," Jim muttered. And that was the last thing you heard before you drifted into oblivion. 


	2. Rescue Me - Part 2 - Scotty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of abuse.

"Has anyone seen, Lieutenant (y/l/n)?" Scotty asked the next morning in engineering. Everyone shook their head or answered in the negative. You were late to your shift and you were never late. Not without informing him of the reason. He'd already attempted to reach you twice by communicator and called the med bay. This wasn't like you at all. He linked his hands together on top of his head and blew out his breath.

"Lieutenant Commander Scott." Scotty turned at the sound of Spock's inflectionless voice. 

"Spock," he said with a sigh, "what can I do for you?"

"I have been directed to inform you of Lieutenant (y/l/n)'s location."

"Well, where is she, man?" Scotty all but shouted when Spock did not continue.

Spock arched one eyebrow and linked his hands behind his back. "Lieutenant (y/l/n) spent the evening in Dr. McCoy's quarters and is currently still located there. She will not be reporting for duty until further notice."

Pain jolted through Scotty followed closely by anger. His face heated and his muscles grew tight. How dare he? Some friend that grumpy bastard turned out to be. His hands fisted at his sides. By the time Scotty decided to hunt down McCoy, Spock was long gone.

As you were his second in command, Scotty put the next highest ranking officer in charge and headed to the med bay. Once he arrived, he was informed that McCoy had called in and would not be working that day. "I bet he did," he growled under his breath, earning a worried look from the nurse that had delivered the news.

He briefly debated returning to engineering, but instead turned the other way to go to McCoy's quarters. He pounded on the door once he arrived. "Open the door, ye bloody bastard!" 

The door opened to reveal McCoy, his brows drawn together as he frowned at Scotty. "Scotty? What the hell?"

Scotty put two fingers on McCoy's chest and pushed him into the room. "Spock told me what ye did. Some friend you are," he hissed as his eyes darted around the room looking for you. 

"Hold up, Scotty." McCoy put his hands up in a placating gesture. "What exactly did Spock say?"

"He told me (y/n) spent the night here and that she was still with ye."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Pointy-eared bastard. Just calm down, Scotty. It's not what it looks like. (y/n), darlin', could you come out here for a minute?"

After a moment, you emerged from the bedroom, and Scotty's heart broke at the sight before him.

***

Your eyes widened as you saw Scotty with Bones. Your eyes darted between both friends before settling on the grumpy doctor. "I told you I didn't want him to see me like this." Tears welled in your eyes and you dropped your head forward. 

After a moment, shoes appeared in your line of vision. "Lassie?" Scotty's voice was soft and low as if he was trying not to startle you. When you didn't respond, he grasped your hands in his own. "Look at me, Lass."

Finally, you looked up and a hot tear rolled down your cheek. His eyes were sad as he studied you, taking in your visible injuries. 

"What happened?"

You sucked in a deep breath, trying to find courage from it. "Daniel."

As it had been the night before, the one word was enough. The sadness in his eyes was quickly replaced by anger. His face flushed and his jaw grew tight. He started to pull away from you to go to the door and you grasped his hands tighter. "Please, Scotty. It's fine. Jim has him locked in the brig and is going to put him off at the next star port."

A quick glance around the room told you that Bones had left the two of you alone. You dragged the engineer toward the couch and took a seat. He settled himself beside you. There was silence for a long time before he broke it. "Why didn't you want me to know? I thought we were friends."

Your brows shot up into your hairline. "That wasn't about you, Scotty. It's just so humiliating. I'm so embarrassed that I let this happen." You dropped your head again and tangled your fingers together in your lap. 

"Hey. Hey," Scotty protested and laid a rough hand along your jaw, using it to lift your head to look at him. "You've got nothing to be embarrassed about, lass. You're one of the strongest, most caring people I know."

You met his gaze for a long moment, laying your own hand on top of his. You didn't miss the way his eyes darted down to your lips and back up. Your heart skipped a beat in your chest. The truth was, you'd been crushing on your boss almost from the moment you met him. You leaned forward and he mirrored the movement. The corner of your mouth curled into a smile. 

"Hey, Scotty?"

"Aye, Lassie?"

"Kiss me already, would you?"

"Aye." His lips met yours, softly at first, and your eyes drifted shut. You moved your hand to the side of his face and deepened the kiss. After a long moment, he pulled back to rest his forehead against yours. "About bloody time."

***

It was another three weeks before the Enterprise docked at a spaceport. You and Scotty stood to one side of the docking area waiting for them to bring Daniel out.

Scotty shifted on his feet beside you. "Are you sure about this, lass? There's no reason to see him if you don't want to."

You leaned against his side. "We've been over this. It'll be closure."

He wrapped an arm around you and kissed the top of your head. "I just don't want him to upset you."

"He doesn't have the power to do that anymore, Mr. Scott. Not with you here." You tilted your head so you could see his face and smiled as it flushed red. Noise drew your attention back to the ship. Daniel stumbled out between two security officers. He glanced at you with narrowed eyes before his gaze darted to take in Scotty beside you. His head immediately dropped forward so he was staring at the ground again.

But not before you saw the cuts and bruises on his face. You blinked a couple of times before turning to look at your boyfriend with wide eyes. "How do you suppose he got injured?" you asked.

Scotty blushed again and gave a little shrug. "Don't know, lass. Maybe he fell."

You placed a hand on your hip. "Montgomery Scott."

"All right but it wasn't just me. Kirk was there, too."

Your lips twitched as you fought a smile. You knew you shouldn't be finding this much amusement in this but you couldn't help it. "And Leonard?"

Scotty muttered something you couldn't quite catch. 

"What was that?" 

"I said he might not have had the most tender hand seeing to Daniel's injuries after the fact."

Finally, you gave into the urge to grin and looped your arm with Scotty's. "It's a good thing I love you, Mr. Scott."

"I love you too, lass," he said, covering your hand with his own before you both walked away to find the captain and his grumpy best friend.


	3. Out of Darkness - Kahn

For a long time, all you knew was darkness. You didn't dream. You didn't wake. You just existed.

You became aware of the noise first. A steady buzz that eventually became voices, though you didn't recognize them. 

Finally, your eyes blinked open and you saw light for the first time since they put you in this cursed capsule. Your eyes focused on an unfamiliar face lined with age. He smiled at you but there was rage in his eyes. "Who are you?" you asked, your voice, precise, calm. 

"I am Admiral Marcus of Starfleet."

You pushed yourself up until you were sitting, though still inside your capsule. "Why did you wake me, Admiral? Where are the rest of my people?"

"One of your people has killed many of mine. I need your help subduing him."

You didn't miss that he failed to answer your second question. "Who?" though you feared you already knew the answer.

"He goes by Khan."

You kept your face a blank mask, unwilling to let him see the effect the name had on you. Khan was your husband. He had a temper but he wouldn't kill without reason. How did this man know what you were to each other? And why had you been separated from the rest of your crew? You climbed from the capsule and stood in front of the Admiral. "Why?"

He pursed his lips. "Why what?"

"Why did he kill your people?"

His eyes darted away from yours and his pulse increased. Whatever followed was going to be a lie. Fool. "Khan launched an unprovoked attack on Starfleet personnel. And you will help me stop him or I will kill you where you stand."

You arched a brow and maintained your calm facade. "I hardly think my death will make him any more cooperative, Admiral. Please take me to my husband."

***

You had not expected to have to travel to Khan by spaceship. It had only taken a few hours aboard the ship for you to recognize your husband's work. What was going on? You were allowed to roam the ship, but two security officers accompanied you everywhere. As if they would be a deterrent should you choose to do anything. It was actually a little insulting that Marcus thought so little of you. 

Eventually you were summoned to the bridge. You watched as Marcus talked to a young Starfleet captain and explained why he had woken Khan. You watched as Marcus said you and your crew were all doomed to die. Your lips twitched when the other ship went into warp. 

You were ordered to sit as Marcus pursued the ship and opened fire. You were all but forgotten as the weapons system powered down and the crew scrambled to repair the damage. But you remained still as you waited. 

"Admiral. We should have weapons back in five minutes," a voice said. 

Your husband was on that ship. After assuring yourself that everyone's attention was elsewhere, you reached your hand up to type quickly on the panel beside you. 

"Damn it," a man said as he smacked the palm of his hand against the console in front of him. "I've lost it again."

"Well, get it back," Marcus roared. 

Several minutes later a man came running onto the bridge. "Sir, we just had a hangar door open on deck thirteen."

"Khan," Marcus said without hesitation. Your pulse began to race at the thought you might see your husband again soon. Marcus grasped your upper arm and hauls you from your seat. "You're staying right by me, sweetheart."

"My name is (y/n) Singh, not sweetheart, Admiral. You'd do well to remember that."

Just as the weapons system came back online, three figures rushed onto the bridge, firing their weapons. You moved behind the Admiral's chair, protecting you from the blasts. "Kahn," you breathed as the figures stilled, their phasers aimed at Admiral Marcus.

Kahn froze. His clear blue eyes filled with tears as he took you in. "(y/n), you're alive." He no sooner got the words out than one of the other men shot him. 

Anger flared through you and you headed toward your husband. Marcus grabbed your arm and you turned, removing his hand from you and snapping his wrist in one quick movement. He looked at you in shock as he cradled his injured arm against his chest. 

The man standing in front of the Admiral darted a glance in your direction though he kept his phaser aimed at Marcus. You recognized him as the captain of the other ship. "I mean you no harm. I only wish to tend to my husband."

"You're Kahn's wife?"

"Yes."

"Marcus told him you were dead."

Your heart hurt at the pain Kahn must have gone through. No wonder he went on a rampage. Marcus was an imbecile. You nodded at the man, too upset to say anything further and went to Kahn's side. Kneeling beside him you pressed a hand against the side of his face and used the other to brush his hair back. Tension flowed from you as you realized he was breathing. If they stunned him, he'd be awake in moments. 

Even as you had the thought, his eyes fluttered open. His hand wrapped around yours. Tears ran down his cheeks mirroring your own. "You cannot intend to let him live, Captain," he said, rising to his feet. His hand kept its hold on yours as he pulled you tightly to his side. 

The other man looked like he intended to shoot Kahn again. Reaching out, you pushed down the end of the phaser. "Please don't."

"I will take him back to stand trial for his crimes," the captain said.

Kahn stiffened beside you and you squeezed his hand. "And will your people care that he let my husband believe me dead? That he held the rest of our people hostage? Will they care that he woke someone from slumber that they had all forgotten about?" you said.

"You can't honestly--" Marcus started, but was cut off when the captain fired his phaser, stunning him into silence.

"Watch him, Scotty," he said as he turned to face the two of you. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

***

You hummed as you worked in the garden, the sun shining down warming your skin. 

"(y/n)!" someone called and you straightened to give them a wave. As you did your gaze ran over the rest of your little village. It had taken a lot of convincing and a lot of back and forth before you came to an agreement with the captain of the Enterprise. You did most of the negotiating while Khan sat beside you holding your hand. 

You helped repair their ship, and upgrade it just a bit, and they brought you and your people to a habitable planet. The atmosphere wasn't quite what humans needed but your adapted systems could handle it easily. Some of your people hadn't survived their sleep but most had. And you were happy here, content to just be left to yourselves.

Admiral Marcus had been confined to the brig and mysteriously died in his sleep one evening. Khan was cleared as he had been under guard at the time. As for yourself, well...

Arms wrapped around you from behind, drawing you from your thoughts. Large hands came to rest on your swollen belly. You leaned back with a sigh. Khan buried his face in your neck. "I love you, (y/n). I am grateful for every moment I have with you."

"I love you, too." You closed your eyes in contentment and leaned against him more. 

"How long have you been out here, love? You know too much sun is not good for you right now."

You patted one of his hands with your own. "I suppose you should take me inside and put me to bed then, husband."

He turned you so you were facing him. Threading his fingers into your hair, he studied you with those piercing blue eyes. "It would be my pleasure, wife." He kissed you then, deep and needy. You clutched at his shirt as he walked backward to take you into the house, his lips never leaving yours. 

As you slammed the door behind you, you realized you were living your happily ever after. 


	4. Trouble - Kirk

You stood in the middle of a large clearing, constantly turning, your eyes surveying everything. The away mission you were currently on was a simple grab and go, as you liked to call it. In other words, a mission where samples were collected and you went back to the ship. Scanners showed only flora and lower lifeforms so there should be little to worry about. 

Should being the key word. For some reason your Captain, Jim Kirk, decided to come on this mission and that meant trouble. You didn't want to say your captain attracted bad luck like metal to a magnet, but...well, maybe it would be better if you didn't say anything at all. 

Your eyes fell on the man in question. He walked through the field obviously deep in thought. His hands were behind his back as he strolled slowly along. As much as you hated to admit it, he was gorgeous to look at, especially those piercing blue eyes. The problem was, he knew it and was used to it making things easier for him. Especially with the ladies. Because of that, you had shoved the feelings you had for him way down. He had a lot of other women to choose from. There was no reason he'd pick you.

You frowned at the direction your thoughts had taken and shook your head. You tore your gaze away to find the other two members of your little team. They were easy to locate in their science blues as they gathered flowers and other things. Seeing everyone was all right and doing as they were supposed to, you continued to scan the area for threats. 

All of a sudden you began to feel uneasy, though you couldn't immediately pinpoint why. Then it hit you. It was quiet. The white noise of animals and insects that made up the background of a place like this was gone. The only noise was coming from the four of you. You tightened your grip on your phaser and made a slow circle. 

Once you'd turned completely around, you froze in shock at what had been forming behind you. A mass of black clouds was churning and rolling along the horizon, quickly heading in your direction. Almost constant lightning flashed horizontally through the sky, making the dark clouds more purple than black. Even this monstrosity of a storm was silent. The hair on the back of your neck stood up. "Captain!" you yelled.

You called the Enterprise without waiting to see if the captain even responded to your shout. "Y/l/n to Enterprise."

"Enterprise here," came Commander Spock's familiar voice.

"Commander, you need to beam us up. Now."

"What is that?" Captain Kirk asked from where he'd come to stand beside you.

"Trouble," you muttered. 

"Lass, it's Scotty," the engineer said over the comm. "We can't get a lock on you. There's too much interference. Can you move?"

You started to back away as the storm started to roll more quickly in your direction. "No. It's an electrical storm."

"That's not good, lass. You'll lose comms, too. Get somewhere s--" He was cutoff before he could finish his sentence. 

"Let's go," you yelled to the science team. It appeared they had packed up when you first yelled at the captain. At least they were smart. "We're heading there," you told them and pointed toward a dark area on the cliff face not far from where you were. It was a cave you had scoped out earlier. 

You turned to see Captain Kirk still watching the incoming threat with slack-jawed awe. "Captain!"

He nodded to acknowledge he'd heard you, but he didn't move. You sighed and began to run back to him. Just as you did, an eerie howling filled the air. It took a moment for you to realize it was the wind. Your eyes widened as the trees began to bow in front of the oncoming storm. "Captain," you yelled again. Still, he did not move, mesmerized by the coming destruction. 

"Jim!" you yelled, hoping that would get his attention. You sighed in relief when he turned to you in surprise. "We've got to go. Now."

He snapped out of whatever was holding him and jogged over to you. "There's a cave," you told him as you pointed it out. "We need to take shelter."

You started half-jogging in that direction but quickly picked up speed when you realized the storm was nipping at your heels. The deluge started when you were just feet from the safety of the cave and you were well and thoroughly soaked by the time you ducked inside. 

"Are you okay, y/l/n?" he asked. 

"Yeah. Just wet. You?"

He chuckled. "I'm not sure wet covers it, but I'm fine."

Those blue eyes studied you and you turned before he saw you blushing. It was then you realized you were alone in the cave. Their equipment was lined up neatly along the wall, but the science team was nowhere to be seen. You had a bad feeling about this.

"Captain, the rest of our team is missing."

"I was just about to ask about that. Their things are here so they went to the right place, but where could they have possibly gone?"

You pulled out a small light and shone it into the darkness deeper in the cave. It illuminated nothing but rocks. Now you had a dilemma, you needed to search for the rest of your team, but you couldn't leave the captain. You were the only member of security here. It was your job to make sure he got back safely. But then you realized this was Jim Kirk you were talking about. You sighed. 

"You're going in there aren't you?"

"Yep."

"And if I go and tell you stay here, you're going to follow me aren't you?"

His hand came down on your shoulder. "You know me so well, Y/l/n."

***

You'd been searching the dark for almost an hour with no sign of your teammates. The two of you had started out silent, but that quickly grew unnerving and you'd been making idle chatter since. 

"Captain, can I ask you a question?"

"Why not?"

"Why do you always ask for me to accompany you on away missions?"

"Because you are a capable and competent officer and I like having you on the team."

You let out a little laugh. "That sounded like it was rehearsed. Did you memorize that answer just in case I asked?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he said, but you noticed he didn't answer the question. 

You were about to say something else, but then you realized you could see him more clearly than you had since you started searching. You put a hand on his arm and pulled him to a stop before clicking off your light. He did the same and you could still see. 

A light glowed further down the corridor. You pulled out your phaser and stepped in front of the captain. You'd only taken three steps when a thick mist filled the cave and you immediately started coughing. Within seconds, all you knew was darkness.

****

Your hearing returned to you first. A low grunting noise filled your ears. You kept your eyes closed as you listened. At first, you'd thought it an animal but the longer you listened, the more rhythm there seemed to be in it. Almost like...speech?

Something sharp poked you in the side. It wasn't too deep, but deep enough you grunted in pain and started to bleed. You snapped your eyes open to see a  rat the size of a man getting ready to poke you with his spear again.  Okay, so he wasn't really a rat but that's what he looked like. 

You grabbed his spear as he shoved it toward you again and twisted it so it came out of his grip. You spun it to face him as you sat up, doing your best to ignore the pain in your side and in your head. You jabbed it at him as you stood so he would back away from you. It worked until he shrieked at the top of his lungs. 

The sound made you cringe. You were thrown slightly off guard when he charged at you. You used the spear to shove him away from you just as ten more of the rat things flooded into the room. 

 "Fan-freaking-tastic," you muttered as you began to fight in earnest. The prime directive said you were supposed to avoid killing native species of a planet but you didn't have your phaser and you weren't about to die in their place. Your mind honed in on the fight, dodging some blows, retaliating for others, and using the spear when you were able. 

You had taken some minor hits, but then one of the rats got past your defenses and hit you in the side with a club. At least two ribs snapped if not more. You howled in pain and jammed the spear into his chest and shoved backward, doing your best to ignore the pain flaring from your side. "Damn, James Kirk always getting us into trouble."

Technically this wasn't the captain's fault but you were going to blame him anyway. He was bad luck. Agony flared through you when one of them stabbed you from behind. You screamed in anger and pain and fought harder than before, quickly taking out the rest. Both of your stab wounds burned as you began to look for the rest of the away team. You used the spear as a walking stick. It was only then you noticed the spear head was stone, not metal. So much for clean wounds.

It didn't take you long to find the rest of your crewmates and dispatch the two guards that watched them. "Hello, Captain," you said as you stepped into the room.

His clear blue eyes darted up to where you were standing just inside the door. He jumped to his feet. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Rats. Big ones."

The door to the cage was tied shut and you used the head of the spear to cut through the vine. The science officers thanked you profusely as they rushed out of the cage. Captain Kirk took the spear from you and handed it to one of them. All your things were laid out on a rock to the side and he quickly gathered them and handed them out as you tried to apply pressure to the wound on your back. 

"Let me see," he demanded, turning you so he could get a better look.

You shook your head. "That's not necessary, Captain."

He huffed a laugh and prodded at your wound with his fingers. "I think you can call me Jim after all this, y/n."

You hissed as he applied pressure to the edges of the wound. "That might be awkward when I'm on duty, sir."

"Then Kirk at least. That's an order." He came back to stand in front of you. "That wound's not in the best shape."

You just looked at him. He didn't need to tell you that, you could feel it. "Why do you think security wears red shirts? It hides the blood."

He laughed outright at that then tried to loop the arm on your other side around his neck. Unfortunately, that was where the wound on your side was so you let out a little scream.

He scowled. "How many times did you get stabbed exactly?"

"Just the two, Kirk."

He looked at you for a moment then shook his head. Before you could even think to protest, he swept you up in his arms. "I don't think--"

"I think we need to get out of here as fast as possible and you aren't going to be able to keep up. So shut up, Lieutenant. That's an order."

***

When you all stumbled out of the cave, the sunlight was blinding. According to Kirk you'd been below ground for at least a day. You lifted a hand to shield your eyes and heard a familiar voice yell, "Jim!"

Once your eyes adjusted to the light you saw McCoy, Spock and several others running in your direction. "What happened, Captain?" Spock asked as they reached you.

"We'll discuss that later. Right now y/n needs medical assistance."

"Put her down," McCoy ordered.

"Hey, doc," you said with a weak smile. 

He smiled though it didn't reach his eyes. "How you doin', darlin'?"

You chuckled. "Been better."

He scanned you and frowned. His eyes darted over to Kirk. "Did she lose consciousness at all?

"I don't think so. It was kind of dark in there, Bones. What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Let's just get her to med bay."

You screamed as you appeared on the transporter pad and then you passed out.

***

When you woke again, the first thing you noticed was your pain had eased considerably. The next thing you noticed was your hand felt hot and there was a weight on your legs. You blinked your eyes open slowly, still tired, and immediately recognized the med bay on the Enterprise. You never thought you'd be happy to see this place. A glance down showed Captain James T Kirk holding your hand as his head was propped on his free arm as it lay across your legs. 

You wondered how long he'd been here. Lifting your other hand you ran your fingers through his hair. You'd wanted to do that since you first laid eyes on him and you weren't about to let the opportunity pass you by. His head lifted and he blinked sleepily at you. Suddenly realizing you were awake, his eyes widened and he sat up, scooting closer to the head of the bed.

"Y/N, you're awake! Bones!" he yelled then turned back to you. "How are you? How do you feel? Are you okay?"

"Calm down, Jim. Give the girl a chance to wake up," Bones muttered as he came over and started checking your vitals. "Why don't you go get her some water?"

He nodded his head and hurried off. 

You looked at Bones with wide eyes. 

He laughed. "He hasn't left your side except to go to the bridge and to clean up when I threatened to dump a bucket of water on him."

"Why?"

He arched a brow. "I would think that rather obvious, Lieutenant. Are you in any pain?" he asked as Kirk reappeared. 

You shook your head and sipped the water Kirk brought you. The coolness was a welcome relief to your scratchy throat. "What happened? I don't remember anything after we left the planet."

Kirk grasped your hand in both of his. "Bones fixed the wound in your side easy enough. And your ribs. But there was a couple of slivers of stone from the spear left in the wound in your back."

"When we transported you, it shifted. One of the pieces was close to your liver. We had to operate. That should have taken care of it, but there was some sort of poison on the spear. It took several days for us to come up with an antidote. You've been asleep for a week," McCoy explained to you. 

Your eyes widened in shock. 

"You'll be all right  now. I'll be back," he said and moved away. 

Kirk squeezed your hand. "I...I mean we almost lost you."

Your eyes searched his face taking in the dark circles around his eyes and his sallow looking skin. Captain Kirk had definitely seen better days. 

"Doc said you stayed here the whole time unless you were working."

His cheeks flushed red then he locked his gaze onto yours. "I was worried."

"Mm-hmm. And why do you ask me to accompany you on every away mission again?" you teased. His eyes were full of warmth and hope as he looked at you. You decided to take pity on him. You laid your hand against the side of his face. "I like you, too, Kirk. Have since the day I laid eyes on you. It's why I keep bailing your ass out of trouble."

He grinned and leaned forward to press soft lips against yours. Your eyes fluttered shut as you enjoyed the sensation. When he pulled back he was still grinning. "Y/N, call me Jim."


	5. Happy Birthday - Spock

You had a unique role on the Enterprise. You had been trained in multiple areas so you could fill in as needed around the ship. As such, you had a much larger base of friends than most onboard as you'd worked with almost everyone. So you weren't that surprised when you stepped onto the lift to be greeted by a smiling Captain Kirk and Commander Spock.

"Y/N, nice to see you. Where do we have you working this week?"

"Engineering, Captain." Captain Kirk was an attractive man, but he wasn't the one that captured your attention. No, you'd been crushing on a certain Vulcan science officer since the academy. "Commander Spock, happy birthday."

He gave you a tight nod and an emotionless "Lieutenant," without meeting your eyes. 

"How many times have I told you to call me Jim, y/n?" the captain asked with a flirty grin.

"Captain, I believe Lieutenant y/l/n would be uncomfortable with that familiarity," Spock spoke before you could say anything. 

You glanced at him in surprise and your cheeks heated. 

"Since when do you know so much about y/n, Spock?" Kirk asked with amusement in his voice. 

The Vulcan cleared his throat and if you weren't mistaken there was a green tinge to the tips of his ears. "I have merely taken the opportunity to observe the lieutenant when we worked together and have found her to be observant of protocol without being overly severe."

Kirk hummed and looked between the two of you as the lift stopped. You stepped out with a nod and turned left. "Woah," Kirk said, stopping you. "Aren't you coming to the party, y/n?"

You took a breath before turning around. Kirk waited for an answer with lifted brows while Spock stood with his hands behind his back looking as cool and collected as always. You mirrored his position to keep yourself from fidgeting with your hands. "Please don't take offense Captain when I say that it seems rather illogical to have a party for someone who most  likely does not celebrate their birthday. I thought perhaps Commander Spock would be more comfortable with less people there."

Kirk looked between both of you again and grinned. You weren't sure what that look meant but you were quite certain you didn't trust it. Your captain was definitely up to something. 

"I appreciate your consideration, Lieutenant y/l/n, but I assure you that your presence would not be disruptive in the least," Spock said.

Kirk clapped a hand on his first officer's shoulder. "What Spock here is trying to say is he would be devastated if you didn't come."

Spock turned to him and arched a brow which was fortunate because it meant he didn't see your cheeks flare red. "I do not recall having lost my capacity for speech, Captain. Nor do I recall asking for your assistance."

You stepped forward before they sniped at each other anymore. "I would be happy to attend. Thank you, sirs." You strode past them and headed down the hall without waiting for them. It only took a second for them to catch up and escort you to Spock's birthday party.

"y/n!" Uhura waved you over as soon as you stepped through the door. 

You smiled and made your way over to find her sitting with Chekov, Sulu and Dr. McCoy. "Hello, all." They all greeted you warmly and McCoy pulled out the empty chair on one side of him and motioned for you to sit.

"Lieutenant y/l/n, just the person I wanted to see," McCoy said. 

"Why's that, Doc?" McCoy was one of your favorite people on the ship. It hadn't taken you long at all to break through his gruff exterior and become friends. Currently he sat with his hand protectively around the bottle of whiskey you'd given him for his birthday.

"Because, I intend to show these youngsters how to hold their liquor and require your assistance."

"Why do you always find it necessary to talk like an old man, Bones?" Kirk said, stepping up behind you and patting his friend on the shoulder. 

"Can it, Jim," McCoy snapped. "Are you joining us or not?"

"Like you had to ask," he said and dropped into the chair on the other side of the doctor. 

You glanced over your shoulder looking for Spock only to find him standing silently right behind you. "Would you like to join us, Commander? It is your party after all." You were extraordinarily proud of yourself for getting out two whole sentences without stuttering or blushing.

"I do not understand the joy humans find in drinking excessively, but yes, I will join you." He took the empty chair next to you. You smiled and turned to McCoy. "So what's the plan, Doc?"

"A drinking game obviously," the captain said and leaned across McCoy looking at you with narrowed eyes. "How come you'll call him Doc but won't call me Jim?"

You smirked. "Last I checked, Doctor was not, in fact, Dr. McCoy's first name."

Kirk's eyes lit up as if he'd just figured something out. "Then Kirk. Call me Kirk. That's an order."

"Captain--" Spock started but you laid a hand on his forearm cutting him off. 

"It's fine, Commander. We are off duty. And Kirk is less of a mouthful than Captain."

"Yes," Kirk said and pumped his fist. 

Everyone at the table laughed well aware of the fact Kirk and Spock were the only two on the ship you always called by their rank. You glanced around the room with a frown. "Where's Scotty?" you asked.

McCoy laughed. "Holed up with that bottle of Scotch you gave him last Christmas. He sends his regards, Spock."

"I spoke to Mr. Scott earlier today. I believe his regards were adequately conveyed at that time Doctor." Him speaking only served to remind you of his closeness and you took a deep breath to keep from blushing. 

McCoy rolled his eyes and turned back to Kirk. "What sort of game?"

Kirk shrugged. 

"It is not a game without rules, Ceptin," Chekov said. 

Uhura nodded. "And a prize. What's the point of playing if there's nothing to win?"

"The next three days off. If you win this, you're going to need it to recover," Kirk said with a grin. 

Everyone enthusiastically agreed. Well, everyone except Spock who just looked at his captain with that arched brow. 

"Then I know just the game," you announced.

The game you suggested was called Drowning Liars. You went around the table and took turns stating something about yourself then everyone had to guess if it was a truth or a lie. If they were wrong they had to drink. If everyone guessed correctly, the teller had to drink. It was a fun game and you were all laughing loudly before long. You found it especially hilarious that Spock had to drink every time it was his turn because Vulcans don't lie so everyone always guessed truth. 

It was several hours later and Chekov, Uhura and Sulu had long since given up and stumbled to their rooms. Kirk had his head laying on his arm on the table and was barely coherent. McCoy looked exhausted and grumpy, but he always looked grumpy so that was nothing new.

Sometime after the other three left, the four of you had devolved to just taking shots. Your face was mostly numb. In fact, you were pretty sure your teeth were numb. Was that even possible? But you were still coherent and so was Spock. In fact the only difference you saw in the Vulcan was that he looked relaxed. If anything, it only made him more attractive. You frowned at the thought. Drunk you could get in a lot of trouble with those kind of thoughts. 

You swallowed another shot, enjoying the burn. McCoy slammed his glass down on the table and Kirk didn't even try drinking. "That's it. y/n and Spock win. I give up."

"Noooo," Kirk slurred and you bit your lip to keep from laughing at your captain. "I'm still good."

"Damn it, Jim. I'm a doctor, not a mortician. You drink any more and you're going to be a corpse," McCoy lectured as he got to his feet. With Spock's help, they got Kirk up and looped his arm over McCoy's shoulders. "I've got him, Spock. Happy birthday."

"Indeed, Doctor. Thank you." He resumed his seat and you both simply looked at each other for a long moment. 

You got to your feet. "I'll be right back. " On a table along the side of the room were a few gifts for Spock. You found the box you had dropped off earlier in the day and carried it back to the table. 

He examined the box when you sat it in front of him as if unsure what to do with it. 

"Open it, Spock."

His eyes darted over to you then back to the present. He opened the package as methodically as he did everything else, carefully pulling the paper back. You made a mental note to use a gift bag next time. Once he finally got the paper off, he lifted the lid on the box then looked at you with lifted brows. He pulled out the bottle nestled inside with utmost care. It was a delicately cut bottle filled with a pale amber liquid. He took the lid off and smelled the contents. 

"Vulcan brandy," he breathed. There was no mistaking the surprise in his expression. That told you the alcohol had effected him more than anything else he'd done so far. "Where did you find this, Lieutenant?"

"I have my sources," you told him. You weren't about to mention the trouble you'd went to or how much it cost. Though he was probably already well aware.

His eyes studied you and your cheeks heated. At the same time his cheeks and ears turned a pale shade of green. After a moment he cleared his throat. "It seems only fitting that I share this with the one who went to such trouble to procure it." He gestured at your glass. "May I, Lieutenant?"

***

You woke with the pleasant taste of Vulcan brandy still coating your tongue. Your head hurt but not as bad as it should have considering the night before. For that you were grateful. Not wanting to get up yet, you kept your eyes sealed and nestled into the bed. Why was it so warm in here? And why was your pillow so firm? You started to move your hand to fluff it only to realize that something had your hand captured. 

Slowly you opened your eyes to be met with an expanse of pale, leanly muscled chest. You froze even as your breathing sped. A glance at your hand showed your fingers entwined with someone else's and laying on his stomach. Tilting your head back slowly so as not to disturb your bed partner, you were met with Spock's handsome features. 

Part of you was mortified, the rest of you wanted to run your fingers through his hair and kiss his lips. What the hell happened and why didn't you remember? It wasn't like you to blackout regardless of how much you drank. That Vulcan brandy must pack a serious punch.

You put your head back in its original position as you debated whether to attempt to sneak away or to just stay this way as long as possible. It wasn't as if you were ever going to get this opportunity again. At least you still wore your sports bra and underwear. You'd hate yourself if you actually had sex with your crush and couldn't remember it.

Suddenly you realized that the movement of Spock's chest had changed as he awoke. Rather than immediately kicking you out as you expected, his free hand played with your hair where it lay on your back and he ran his thumb across the skin of the hand holding his. That was when you remembered Vulcans kiss with their hands. Maybe he wanted this as much as you did? Your heart began to pound at the thought. "Lieutenant?" he sounded unsure, confused.

He hadn't even used your name. Of course he didn't want this. How stupid could you be to even consider it? You jerked your head back to meet his gaze and found him frowning at you. You quickly untangled yourself from him and hopped out of the bed. "I am so sorry, Commander. I don't know what happened. I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted you to have a good birthday and I really wanted those three days off and--"

"Lieutenant!" Spock said sharply as he sat up in the bed and swung his legs over the edge. 

You ignored him and kept looking for your clothes. Where the hell were your pants? "I probably threw myself at you. I should have known something like that would happen after trying to hide it for so long. I'm such an idiot--"

"Y/N!" 

That got you to stop. Spock had never called you by your first name before. A strong hand wrapped around your wrist and pulled you back toward the bed. He turned you until you were facing him, though you found it impossible to meet his eyes. 

"Am I to understand that you are not upset over finding yourself in my bed, but rather at the thought that you initiated whatever happened?" His voice rolled through you, calming you as it always did. He didn't sound angry. In fact, he sounded almost...hopeful?

You looked up to see his blank face waiting for an answer. You took a deep breath deciding you might as well tell the truth. It wasn't like you could make things any worse. "If I'm completely honest, Commander, I've been in love with you since the academy. I obviously drank enough that I wasn't fully aware and initiated romantic contact with you. I am sorry--"

He reached out and interlaced his fingers with yours. Your eyes widened in surprise and only grew wider when the Vulcan's mouth twitched in a semblance of a smile. "I believe it is time I told you that I have had similar feelings for you since you were assigned to the Enterprise. I refrained from mentioning before as I am your superior officer and did not want you to feel pressured into a relationship with me."

The weight that had been in your chest since you woke lightened with his words. He loved you back. You leaned forward and pressed your lips to his. It took him a second but eventually he kissed you back and pulled you closer to his body. You finally got the chance to run your fingers through his hair as you held his head to yours. "I love you, Spock," you said as you pulled away. 

"And I am very fond of you, y/n."

You smiled and leaned your forehead against his. "Spock? How logical would it be to spend the next three days in bed?"

"That would not be logical at all, y/n." You heart sank a bit in disappointment at his words. "However, as you may recall, I am half human and your species tends to not be very logical at all." He scooted back into his bed and pulled you up with him. 

You soon found yourself in much the same position as you had been when you woke. "Happy birthday, Spock." 


	6. Germs - Bones

Dr. Leonard McCoy walked down the corridor of the Enterprise, frowning at the display in his hand. The damn thing was malfunctioning. Again. Either that or his last patient actually had a temperature of 210 degrees. Unlikely as they were human and didn't spontaneously combust. And they hadn't even been sick. They were in the med bay for a sprained wrist. 

McCoy sighed and raked a hand through his hair. As if he didn't have enough to do, he had to deal with shoddy equipment. He'd been through three different engineers trying to solve the problem. As that didn't work, he was on his way to engineering to discuss it with Scotty. A flash of color caught McCoy's eye and he stopped to frown at the floor. 

Squatting, he examined the droplets that had caught his attention. Blood. He touched it with the tip of one finger to find it still wet. His frown deepened into a scowl. They hadn't had any lacerations or anything of the sort in medical for the last two days. Perhaps someone had simply had a nose bleed or something. He sent a message off to maintenance to send someone to clean it up. 

He kept a sharper eye out now and continued to spot splashes of crimson liquid all the way to engineering. He'd attempted to scan it with the device in his hand to see which crew member was responsible for the wanton disregard of safety protocols but the damn thing told him it was his blood. He was pretty sure he'd remember bleeding all over the ship. Stupid thing.

Stepping off the lift and into Engineering, he saw more droplets along the metal walkways. "Scotty!" he yelled. 

The man in question appeared with his brows up in his hairline. "Aye, McCoy. What are you doing down here?"

He thrust the broken equipment at Scotty. "This damn thing's broken again. They all are. This one's just the worst. Send me someone competent this time, would you? Oh, and one of your damn redshirts is bleeding all over the ship."

Scotty grunted as his eyes found the blood McCoy pointed out and followed it with his eyes, both to the lift and deeper into engineering.

"You'll be wanting Y/N," Scotty announced. "Oi, Y/L/N, front and center," he yelled.

"For which, the repairs or the bleeding?" McCoy asked with a sour expression and his arms crossed over his chest. 

"Both, I reckon."

"Damn it, Scotty. I was in the middle of something. What do you want?" the voice drifted to them before the owner stepped into view. When she did, McCoy froze for just a moment. She was stunning. Even with the frown on her face and her hair falling from its messy up do. He couldn't recall ever having seen her before which seemed impossible given his position on the crew.

"I need you fix the malfunctioning equipment in the med bay, lass," Scotty told her, looking bored. "You'll be the fourth. It's still not working right."

"Why didn't you send me in the first place?" she asked and held out a hand for the device.

"Because you can't be all over the bloody ship at the same time. I need you down here. And you didn't go to medical for your hand like I told ye to, did you?"

***

Y/N frowned and looked at the hand she was holding out, only to see blood dripping from it onto the floor. "Damn it."

She grabbed a rag from a nearby table and pressed it against the wound before looking over the edge of the railing. "Keenser," she yelled, spotting the little alien. "Glue."

He grunted and tossed her up a tube of their industrial glue. She wiped at the deep cut with the rag and sat it aside to open the glue.

"What in God's name do you think you are doing?" a voice boomed from beside her.

She turned to find a man in a blue shirt. He was attractive and would have been more so if he hadn't been looking at her like she was some sort of abomination. "I'm fixing my hand?"

"With that?!" he sputtered out and pointed at the glue accusingly. 

She leaned to the side to look around him to Scotty. He grinned at her. "Lass, meet Dr. McCoy. McCoy, meet Lieutenant Y/L/N. Best damn engineer on this ship besides me."

Y/N looked back at the doctor. She didn't see what the big deal was. This was how she fixed most of her wounds. "Listen, I don't have the time to be running up to med bay every time I nick my finger."

"Nick your--" He huffed and grabbed her hand to examine it. "That is not a nick. That is a deep laceration that needs to be cleaned and sealed properly."

"Whatever," she said completely unbothered. "I'm heading up there to look at the equipment anyway."

The doctor snatched his display back from Scotty and stormed to the lift. She followed behind at a more leisurely pace, taking the small toolbox her boss handed her as she passed by. "Have fun, lass," he said. 

She simply arched a brow and stepped onto the lift.

***

McCoy looked at Y/N from the corner of his eye as they rode the lift to the correct floor. When she'd cleaned the wound with that dirty rag he'd been shocked. But when she prepared to glue it shut he couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. Doesn't the woman know that space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence. Who knows what germs she almost sealed into the wound.

He frowned and shifted on his feet  as he resisted the urge to shudder. When the lift stopped he led her to the med bay. "Sit," he ordered and pointed at an empty bed. He gathered what he'd need to fix her wound properly and went back to her. He ignored her as he began to clean the wound out.

"I still don't see what the big deal was," she said in a quiet voice. "The glue would have done the job just fine."

He glanced up at her and felt his cheeks heat at their proximity. She had leaned forward to watch him work and they were mere inches apart. He cleared his throat and returned to his work. "Do you know what kind of germs or bacteria you could be sealing into a wound like that? You could cause permanent damage."

"Hasn't happened yet."

He straightened and sealed the wound now that he was sure it was clean. Taking a step back, he crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you mean yet?" he asked as he scowled down at her.

She shrugged. "Check my record. I'm only in here for physicals. You honestly think this is my first injury working in engineering?" 

Dropping his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't even want to think about his right now. Just do me a favor and come up here from now on. For one thing, if it's fixed properly it won't open back up on you. I can't have you bleeding all over the ship."

"Whatever you say, Doc." She hopped off the table and grabbed her tool box. "Now is it just the handhelds you're having trouble with?"

***

By the end of his shift, Y/N not only had all of the handhelds working properly, she had repaired the glitchy biobed and the touchy lock on the storage cabinet. She'd just finished showing McCoy everything she'd done while he observed with wide eyes. 

"It all works?" he asked in disbelief. 

She smiled and nodded. 

"And it will keep working?" 

Again she nodded. "If it doesn't you either have faulty equipment or you're breaking it on purpose."

He glanced in her direction to find her smiling. His eyes locked with hers and her smile turned into a smirk. She looped her arm in his. "So, Doc, how about we go to dinner and you can tell me all about the diseases and danger of space while I recount my many self-repaired injuries?"

He was stunned for a moment, but then said, "Yeah, I can do that. Shall we go?"


	7. Tango - Spock

"Starfleet is sending us on a diplomatic mission to this planet," Commander Spock's voice filled the small room where the officers and bridge crew were meeting. An image popped up showing the small planet and some information about it. You looked on with everyone else but weren't really paying much attention. It was only on the very rare occasion that you went on away missions. 

"The inhabitants of the planet call themselves Bomians. They are humanoid in nature with some obvious differences," he continued. Another picture replaced the first showing a group of short people with blue skin and scales covering bald heads.

"The Bomians have a specific ritual they use when meeting new tribes for the first time. We will be expected to learn and participate in the ritual," Uhura added.

"How detailed is this ritual?" Kirk asked. "We arrive in 32 hours. They won't give us any leniency for not living on their planet?"

"We must copy their rituals exactly," Spock responded with a raised brow. "To do otherwise would be seen as an insult."

Kirk ran a hand down his face causing you to smirk. "Fine. Fine. What does this ritual consist of?"

"Federation sent a holovid," Uhura said and pushed a couple of buttons to pull up the footage in question. 

Your eyes darted around the scene in front of you, taking in what you could out of curiosity. You'd always been interested in other cultures. At first there was an exchange of greetings and handshakes. Once that was finished, the resident tribe took seats and watched as two representatives from the visiting tribe began an elaborate dance. You leaned forward as you took in every move. 

"What is this?" Kirk asked.

"It is a traditional dance of their people. Each tribe performs it slightly differently so it need not be exact, but it must be close," Uhura explained. 

"It looks like the Tango," you said almost to yourself. 

"Correct, Lieutenant Y/L/N. There are many similarities. That is why you have been selected to lead the away team and prepare them for this mission," Spock said.

You looked up in surprise and your wide eyes darted between him and your captain.

"Y/N?" Kirk questioned. "Why her?"

"According to Starfleet records, Lieutenant Y/L/N has several years of training and experience in ballroom dancing," Spock answered.

Kirk's gaze shot back to you, his eyebrows coming to rest somewhere in his hairline. You leaned back in your seat with a sigh. "Well, Captain. Care to dance?"

***

This was going miserably. Kirk was willing to learn, eager even, but it was quickly becoming apparent to you that he lacked the ability. It wasn't surprising. This kind of dancing wasn't for everyone. The away team was gathered on the observation deck. Spock, Uhura and McCoy sat to the side watching. You stopped the dance again. "Let's take a break," you said and walked over to the table to get your water. 

"So what happens if they don't like our dance?" you asked the rest of the team.

"We don't get the formula for that medicine," McCoy said, sounding cross. The mission was an exchanging of medical information. You were giving them the ingredients and formula for a common pain killer and they were giving you the formula to make the cure for a form of space flu. It was uncommon but nearly always fatal. 

"Fine. Doc, it's your turn," you said and held a hand out to him. 

He held up his hands and waved you away. "I don't dance, Y/N. I'd be a bigger disaster than Jim."

"I'm not a disaster," your captain grumbled. 

"No, you're not," you assured him. "I also don't think you capable of learning this in whatever time we have left, either."

He nodded his head, conceding the point. "Spock, look through personnel records and see if there is anyone on the ship with a dancing background besides Y/N."

"Perhaps I might try," he suggested instead. 

You looked at him with wide eyes. The tango was a very sensual dance. Emotion was at the core of it really, so Spock thinking he might be able to dance it surprised you. Finally, you shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to give him a chance. 

The music started and Spock took your hands to pull you toward him. You didn't have to direct or lead him at all as he moved the two of you through every beat, every step. It didn't take long at all for you to forget about the others in the room and just lose yourself in the dance. As you were supposed to do. 

Spock spun you out and brought you back, dipping you so low that your hair would have brushed the floor had it been down. When he pulled you up, your face was inches from his. Your eyes met and locked. He spun you again, this time bringing your back to his front as he placed a hand on your stomach to hold you with him as he moved. 

As the song neared its end you hooked your leg around his waist as he dipped you again, snapping you up to look into each others eyes once more as the music faded out. "Well done, Lieutenant," Spock said, breaking the heavy silence that hung in the air. 

"I think you can call me, Y/N, Commander," you breathed out, your eyes continually darting down to look at his lips before going back to meet his gaze.

Someone cleared their throat and the two of you released each other and stepped apart, straightening your uniforms. All three of your fellow crewmembers, were gaping at the two of you with wide eyes and open mouths. 

"That, Captain, is how you dance the tango," you said with a half-smile.

"Who knew the hobgoblin had it in him?" McCoy said still looking stunned.

"I guess we've found your partner," Kirk said with a smirk looking between the two of you. You hated when he got that look. It always meant he was up to something.

***

It was nearly time to head to the surface of the planet and you and Uhura were currently in your quarters looking over the dresses you had to wear. The sleeveless dresses were a deep red in color. The fronts were high, covering you to your collarbones but the cut left your back completely exposed. 

"This style is our only option?" you asked.

"It's what all their females wear. Those scales you saw on their heads run down their backs and make patterns. That's why the back is open," she explained. 

"What about a more subdued color?" 

She shook her head. "The red indicates that we are not available for mating."

"Red it is," you agreed without hesitation. "You can change here. I'll go in the bedroom."

You slid the dress on reveling in the way the silky material felt against your skin. So much better than your uniform. You glanced at yourself in the mirror and smiled. Uhura had already helped you with your hair and it was pinned tightly in place. You turned happy to see a slit running up the right side of the skirt. It would let you move unrestrained when you danced.

Finally you turned and glanced over your shoulder to see your back in the mirror. A blue and purple dragon tattoo twisted up the length of your spine. The head sat on your right shoulder and the tail disappeared beneath the drape of the dress at your waist. It's skin shimmered from the holographic ink you'd spent a small fortune on when you'd had it done. You smirked. You were willing to bet the Bomians had never seen a pattern like that.

The Bomians generally went barefoot, but you weren't willing to do that. Instead, you slipped on the pair of red heels Uhura had brought to go with the dress. It would put you on a more even height with Spock for the dance.

You stepped out to find Uhura ready and waiting for you. Her eyes widened. "You look great," she said. 

"So do you." You spun so she could see your back. "I'm violating the no visible tattoo rule, though."

"Wow, that's amazing," she said as she walked closer. "It's beautiful. How long have you had it?"

"Seems like forever," you told her then turned and looped your arm with hers. "We should go, they'll be waiting."

Sure enough, when you arrived at the transporter room, the three men were waiting on you. They were the pants and tunic combination common amongst the Bomian males. 

"Ladies, you look stunning, as always," Kirk said with a grin while McCoy rolled his eyes. 

Spock took your hand and helped you onto the pad. "Y/N, if I may say so, your appearance is more than adequate."

"Thank you, Spock." You gave him a small smile. Throughout your day of dancing together, you'd finally gotten him to call you by your first name and he'd insisted on you calling him Spock.

"That is not regulation," Kirk said from behind you. You looked over your shoulder with an arched brow to seem him gesturing at your tattoo with another smirk. 

"Sorry, Captain," you said with a shrug. 

Spock said nothing as he looked between the two of you with an arched brow. He hadn't seen your back yet. You were transported to the planet and taken immediately to meet the tribal head. After he and Kirk exchanged the traditional greetings and gestures, everyone settled around an open clearing. "You're up," Uhura told you and you nodded.

Spock and you got into position and waited for the music to start. Once it did you began to move as flawlessly as you had all day. Spock's hand touching the bare skin of your back made the dance even more intimate. Your legs were entwined as you moved. You were dipped and snapped back up. Hands and legs grabbed at each other. You were panting by the time the dance ended and it wasn't entirely from exertion. 

The two of you walked over to the tribal leader to be presented by the captain. He gave you a small bow in appreciation and you couldn't help but smile as McCoy was introduced to the medical man so information could be exchanged. 

Spock led you over to the table where Kirk and Uhura were sitting as a meal was being served. You took two empty seats. As everyone began eating, Spock leaned closer to you so he could speak without being overheard. 

"I must ask, Lieutenant, is the dragon on your back the only violation of the regulations on your person?" Spock asked in his usual inflectionless voice.

You smirked but didn't look at him. "I don't know, Commander. Perhaps you should inspect me later? You know, for regulations sake."

He cleared his throat and straightened in his seat. "Regulations are very important, Y/N. Perhaps I shall."


	8. Undercover - Kirk and Spock (platonic)

You double checked the contents of your pack. The Enterprise was orbiting a leisure class planet and everyone was getting a rotation of shore leave. You were in A group and it was almost time to beam down to the planet. 

Unlike most of your co-workers, your time on the planet wasn't entirely your own. You had a mission to complete. While you were technically a part of the security team, you actually worked directly for Star Fleet. Your specialty was assassinations though you'd done everything from organizing coups to stealing priceless artifacts. 

Reassured that you had everything you needed for this assignment, you grabbed your bag and headed for the transporter room. You stepped up on the platform as you waited for others in your group to arrive. You stood straighter as several of the bridge crew walked into the room, including Spock and Kirk.

Jim ran his eyes over you as he saw you. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes. Due to the nature of your assignment, you were wearing tight black leather pants and a black top with cutouts that hung lopsided on your shoulders. Rhinestones enhanced the design on it. You'd also put up your hair and done your makeup, neither of which you usually bothered with. 

"Well, hello y/n," Kirk said with a smirk. "You look...different."

You arch a brow at the back of his head as he takes the spot in front of you. "Captain, Commander," you said by way of greeting the two men. 

Spock nodded his head once in acknowledgement. "Lieutenant Y/L/N."

Once you were on the surface, Kirk had tried to get you to accompany them to wherever they were heading, but you expertly extricated yourself. Your target was too important. Genis Hardover was a serial killer. As he hopped from planet to planet, he was near impossible to track and find. Intel put him on this leisure planet. He had been tried for several of the murders in his absence and you were to carry out the sentence. 

Nightclubs were Hardover's preferred hunting grounds and you had narrowed the options down to two. You headed to the most likely of the choices and settled yourself at a seat at the bar. The mirror reflected most of the club behind you so you could observe without appearing to do so. 

You'd been at the club for hours and had nearly given up when you saw him. Your target just walked into the bar accompanied by none other than Kirk and Spock. Fantastic. You clenched your teeth and the muscle in your jaw twitched. He'd picked at least one of your crew mates as his next target. 

You kept your gaze locked on him in the mirror as you debated what to do. Luck was with you as he approached the bar and happened to stand right beside you. You listened as he ordered drinks for the table. "That's a lot of drinks for one man," you said. You smiled and gazed at him through your eyelashes. 

He leaned on the bar and flashed you smile. "Here with some friends. Where are your friends, pretty lady?"

You shrugged. "I was supposed to meet them but I think I may have gotten the wrong place."

His eyes ran over you from head to toe as the bartender returned with his drinks. "Well, why don't you join us?"

"That would be grand." You smiled and jumped up from your seat. "Let me get another drink."

You ordered a drink and turned toward the door as if watching for your friends. You kept an eye on your target in the mirror and grimaced when you saw him discretely drop something into the glasses. You turned when the bartender brought your drink back and grinned at him. "Let's go."

As you approached the table, Kirk was the first to see you. He frowned and glanced between you and Hardover. "My friends!" you exclaimed. You glanced at the killer beside you. "You found my friends. How did you do that?" 

He merely gave you a tight smile. You had to walk a tight line here. Hardover was smart. You didn't want him getting away because he was too suspicious. "I'll grab you a chair," he said. 

"Not necessary," Kirk said as he grasped your wrist and pulled you down onto his lap. He ran one hand through your hair and laid his mouth against your ear, making it look like he was kissing you. "What's going on, y/l/n?"

You turned your head against his. "Just go with it."

"I wouldn't have taken you for having a boyfriend the way you were acting at the bar," Hardover said, a bite in his tone as he handed out drinks. 

You forced a laugh. "Jim's just a bit a fun. He's allergic to relationships."

Kirk pinched your side hard and you grunted. You reached for your drink and pushed it over so it would appear you'd spilled it on accident. Jumping off of Kirk's lap, you scrambled for your drink managing to knock everyone else's over in the process. Your crewmates were staring at you with wide eyes. They knew there wasn't a clutzy bone in your body. Hardover was fuming. 

He grasped your wrist and pulled you toward him, ignoring Kirk's protests. "What are you playing at, little girl?"

You ran your free hand along your waist then grasped the wrist of the hand that was holding you. "Genis Hardover, an interplanetary tribunal has found you guilty in the deaths of seven men and women."

He laughed. "You're a bounty hunter? A little thing like you? Good luck with that, sweetheart."

"I'm the executioner."

His eyes went wide as he realized he couldn't breathe. You untangled yourself from his hold and glanced at the others. "Get out of here. Now."

Kirk looked like he wanted to protest. 

"I'll be out in a moment. Go." They followed your orders this time. You watched until they were clear. "Someone help. He's not breathing," you yelled in your best panicky voice. "Help please."

You lowered Hardover to the ground, knowing he was already dead. As a crowd gathered around him you moved backward until you were lost in the group, then you made for the exit. 

Kirk and Spock each grabbed an arm as you stepped outside. "Hello Captain, Commander."

"What the hell is going on, y/n?" Kirk snapped.

"If you would allow me, Captain," Spock interjected. "I believe that Lieutenant y/l/n may have other duties to Star Fleet besides being a security officer on the Enterprise."

"Figured that out all on your own, did you Spock?" Kirk said. 

You shrugged out of the men's grips while they were busy frowning at each other. "Could we move this conversation a little further away?" you asked. They nodded and followed you through the dark streets. 

Kirk pulled you to a stop as you came to clearing. He called the Enterprise. "Three to beam up," he said and soon you were all back on the ship. 

"Come along." You lead the men to the observation deck, sighing in relief when you found it empty. Once they were all in the room, you turned to the security panel. Punching in several commands, the observation deck locked down. No one was getting in or out without your permission. 

Along one wall was a large black cabinet. You made your way to it and began going through the many layers of security. "Wait a minute. That's yours?" Kirk said and you glanced over your shoulder to see him frowning at you.

"Yes," you answered and shot a glance at Spock.

"The Captain has attempted to open this cabinet on multiple occasions," the first officer explained. 

"Well, here you go," you said as you got through the last lock and swung the cabinet open. You dropped your bag inside and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the bottom shelf. Kirk stepped up to examine the contents of your cabinet. Nothing inside looked overtly dangerous. You handed the bottle to Kirk and took off your belt and hung it up, leaving the thin needles concealed inside.

"Why so much security for this junk?" Kirk asked.

"It is not junk, Captain," Spock said. "A cursory observation of the contents has shown at least 37 ways to kill someone without being detected. As I am not trained in such things, I am sure I am underestimating."

You were impressed with the Vulcan's knowledge. "Very good, Commander though you are correct that you are underestimating."

Kirk dug up glasses from somewhere and poured a bit for each of you. They sat on a nearby couch and you paced the floor in front of them. Realizing what you were doing, you stopped. "Sorry. My adrenaline is up from the job. I normally workout after."

"What exactly happened tonight?" Kirk asked.

"I work for Star Fleet directly. I was assigned to the Enterprise as it was a convenient way to get around without rousing suspicion. I can't tell you everything I do, but tonight was a good example." You took a sip of your drink. "Genis Hardover was an interplanetary serial killer. His kills are estimated to be around the 70-80 mark but that's a guess. It could be more. He was sentenced to death for 7 of the murders. I was sent to execute him."

Spock frowned. "The gentleman in question did not appear to be anything but congenial."

"That's what he does. He befriends one or more victims at high tourist destinations, by the end of the evening they're...dead." Your hesitation was due to your reluctance at sharing just how Hardover killed his victims.

"Might I ask why you spilled our drinks?" Spock asked.

"He put something in them at the bar," you explained. 

"How did you kill him? I didn't see you do anything but grab his wrist," Kirk asked.

"Unless I am mistaken, I believe Lieutenant y/l/n used a micro needle to inject some sort of poison into her target," Spock said.

"Close," you told him and smiled. "Hardover is horribly allergic to shellfish. Anytime I can make it appear natural is preferable."

You glanced at Kirk who had suddenly gone quiet. His eyes were wide and it was evident his mind was elsewhere. 

"Captain?" you asked.

His gaze locked on yours. "Have you done this every time we were on shore leave?" 

Your lips twitched. "Shore leave, diplomatic missions, deliveries. Didn't you wonder about the randomness of some of your assignments?"

"Damn it," he said and smacked the seat of the couch next to him. "I won't have your actions endangering the rest of my crew," he said.

You shrugged. "I won't take assignments that endanger others. I made that clear from the beginning."

Kirk sighed and he rubbed his forehead. 

"Something you should consider, Captain, is that my skills are now at your disposal as well." There were many times you could have helped with one of Kirk's schemes but you had to remain quiet to avoid exposing yourself.

He brightened at that. "Very well, y/n. And we will offer you what aid we can."

You glanced to Spock. "In that case...Commander, I was hoping you could demonstrate the Vulcan nerve pinch for me. I believe it would prove useful."

"I am not sure it is logical to show you more ways to injure someone," Spock said with an arch of his brow.

"I am certain that I know enough, you showing me one more won't matter much," you retorted. 

"Point taken, Lieutenant," Spock said, a small smile flashing briefly on his lips. "When shall we begin?"


	9. Disagreeable - Spock

You could pinpoint the exact moment your problems with Spock began. It was approximately .5 seconds after he ordered your twin brother James Kirk removed from the Enterprise. Jim had spent a lifetime getting himself into trouble and you'd spent a lifetime getting him out of it. But Spock refused to be reasonable, even threatening to kick you off the ship as well. Since that day the two of you seemed unable to agree on anything.

Now it was three years later and you were sitting around the table with Spock, your brother and Bones, the ship's Chief Medical Officer. An away team had returned to the ship two days ago and were cleared by medical, but now they all had a rash and a cough. 

"The best members of our science team are currently evaluating the samples the away team brought back to the Enterprise to determine if any of them might have caused the symptoms, Captain," Spock said in his normal monotone.

You arched a brow. "I'm right here, you know." 

Spock mirrored your gesture. "Technically you are not a member of the science team, Lieutenant Kirk."

You looked at your brother. "Seriously, Jim?" 

He just raised a hand to stop any further protest on your part. "Bones, what do you think?"

The doctor scrolled through his PADD. "The affected crew members seem stable. There have been no changes, nothing life threatening. They seem to be responding to the treatment. It looks more like an allergic reaction than anything."

You frowned. "It's odd that they would all be allergic and react the same way."

"I find it unlikely that Doctor McCoy needs assistance in diagnosing his patients. He has proven himself capable on many occasions," Spock interjected. 

You clenched your teeth together and raised your eyebrows at your brother. It was Bones that jumped to your defense, however. "Actually, Y/N is correct. It's rare for there to be something people are universally allergic too and it almost never effects people the same way. Some would have hives, others might have respiratory issues or sinus flare ups."

"That's why I asked her to join us," Jim explained to Spock. Your specialty was alien diseases and poisons. Although your work occurred strictly in the lab, you'd been assigned to the medical team. Probably to try to curtail some of the animosity between you and the Vulcan.

You flashed Spock a smug smile. "I've already collected cultures from all the affected crew. The nurses are interviewing them to see what all of them came into contact with. We've got several hours yet before I'll have any results."

"It is fortunate then that they are not in a life threatening situation. Otherwise, they may not have hours to wait for Lieutenant Kirk's findings," Spock added, sounding perfectly reasonable but you saw it for the jab it was and narrowed your eyes at him.

"Y/N," Jim said in a warning tone.

You leaned back in your seat and crossed your arms over your chest. "Are you implying that I am failing at my job, Spock?"

"On the contrary, Lieutenant Kirk. I was merely--"

"Enough!" Jim snapped and turned your gaze in his direction. He was rubbing his forehead with one hand. "Just stop, you two. I can't take it anymore."

You didn't say any of the multitude of things that popped in your head. Instead you sat and watched your brother to see what was coming next. "Spock, Y/n, go to the labs. Work _together_ to figure this thing out. Bones will be along after a moment. We have some other things to discuss."

"Of course, Captain," Spock said while you simply nodded in acknowledgment. You followed the Vulcan to the lift and stood as far from him as possible as he gave the destination and the doors slid shut.

Seconds later, the lift slammed to a stop. The unexpectedness of the motion caused you to stumble sideways and you were only kept from falling to the floor by two strong hands grasping your upper arms. 

Once you were steady on your feet, the hands released you. "Are you alright, Lieutenant Kirk?"

"Yes. Thank you, Spock. You?"

He merely nodded before looking away from you. "Spock to Bridge."

"This is the bridge," Jim's voice came back, sounding entirely too amused for your liking. "Is there a problem, Spock?"

"We're stuck," you answered for him.

"Yes, you are and you will remain so until you two work out your issues. I'm tired of playing mediator."

"James Tiberius Kirk, I swear if you don't knock this off right now you're going to regret it," you growled. 

"Figure it out you two, or one of you is leaving the Enterprise." His words sent a jolt of fear through you. He couldn't be serious. 

"Jim! Jim!" There was no response to your shouting.

Spock dropped a hand onto your shoulder. "I believe trying to get the Captain's attention at this point would be a fruitless gesture, Lieutenant."

You sighed, knowing the Vulcan was right. You lowered yourself to the floor and leaned against the wall. "You might as well take a seat, Spock. We're going to be here for awhile."

"That would be illogical. All you need to do is apologize for your insubordination and we can--"

"Me apologize? How about you apologize for treating me like I should be anywhere other than the Enterprise? Or acting like I'm stupid? Or--"

Spock cleared his throat, cutting you off and straightened the cuffs of his shirt. "Perhaps I will be seated."

He sat stiffly across from you. For a long time, neither of you said anything as you simply locked gazes. Finally, Spock broke the silence. "I find it unlikely that we will resolve our differences if we do not discuss them."

You shrugged one shoulder, not believing you'd be resolving anything anyway. "Talk, then."

"You are correct that I do not believe you should be stationed on the Enterprise," he started.

Hurt spiked through you and you opened your mouth to protest but he held up a hand to stop you.

"Your brother is the Captain of this vessel. He should not be in a position of authority over you. Especially given that your propensity for arguing with your commanding officers is amplified with him. I believe that you have often taken on the position of being the responsible sibling and having that situation reversed is uncomfortable for you."

Damn the Vulcan and his logic. His reasoned measured words were so much harder to argue with than if he'd just said he hated you.

"Would it make a difference if I reminded you I was stationed on the Enterprise first?"

Spock's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

You gave him a small smile. "Pike requested me. Jim was the stowaway, remember?" You tapped your fingers on your leg. "Jim gets into trouble. I get him out of it."

"That is why you were so angry when I had him removed from the ship," Spock said. It was a statement, not a question. 

"And it was a bit of an overreaction, don't you think? You could have had him sent to the brig. Hell, I would have wrapped him up in a bow and delivered him for you. I was furious with him for that stunt. I was trying to make my own mark in starfleet and, as usual, he got all the attention."

Spock's dark eyes studied you but he said nothing else. 

You sighed. "I may argue with my brother, and I may get angry when he disregards my ideas, but he is my Captain and I will do as he says. No matter how idiotic I think it is."

There was a long stretch of silence. "I do not think you are stupid, Lieutenant."

You looked at Spock in surprise. "This will be easier if you call me, y/n, Spock."

He nodded in acknowledgement. "Very well. Y/N. I  do not believe that you are unintelligent. On the contrary I have read your file and am quite aware of your accomplishments and qualifications. Even if I had not, you have proven yourself quite capable on multiple occasions. I apologize if I have ever made you feel otherwise."

You blinked as you processed the fact that Spock just apologized to you. Finally, you cleared your throat. "I find that a little hard to believe. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that you antagonize me on purpose. But that wouldn't be logical."

Spock's lips twitched as he attempted not to smile. He shifted his position quickly so he now sat next to you instead of across from you. He tilted his head in your direction and lowered his voice. "The Captain is undoubtedly listening to our conversation."

You groaned in annoyance. You hadn't thought of that. Damn your brother.

"In answer to your accusation, I have to admit to a certain enjoyment in our verbal sparring. As I said, you are an intelligent woman and it is rare that I find my equal. It was refreshing to engage in conversation with one that could keep up with me."

You looked down at his words so he wouldn't see the flush in your cheeks. The truth is, part of the reason Spock infuriated you so much is you'd always liked him. It irritated you that you hadn't been able to return to an amiable relationship with him after you chewed him out for jettisoning your brother into space.

He cleared his throat again and a piece of your hair was tucked behind your ear. You glanced over at him in surprise. "It would also be illogical of me not to notice the increase in your physical attractiveness when you're angry."

***

(Two hours later)

"You can't keep them in there forever, Jim," Bones argued with his friend. "We haven't heard anything from them in ages."

Kirk frowned but nodded in reluctant acknowledgment. "Fine. Sulu, return the lift to the bridge please."

"Of course, Captain."

All eyes were on the lift doors as they slid open to reveal the two within. Kirk's eyes widened as he took them in. Spock tugged on the shirt of his uniform straightening it out and ran a hand through his hair, attempting to put it in some sort of order. "Captain," he said with a nod and returned to his station without another word. 

Y/N wore a smirk that had Jim narrowing his eyes. He knew that smirk. It meant she knew something he didn't. Her uniform looked wrinkled and several strands of her hair had fallen. Perhaps most disturbing was the fact that her lipstick was gone and her lips were slightly swollen. 

"Captain," she said with a nod and a lift of her brow. 

"I take it you two have worked out your differences and won't be causing any more issues," he said, doing his best to sound stern, though he didn't know why he bothered. Y/N wouldn't care.

"Oh we worked everything out all right," was her response. 

Jim shot his gaze over to Spock to find the Vulcan smiling slightly. And was that...a bruise on his neck. They couldn't have. They wouldn't have. His eyes darted between the two until he finally threw his hands up in frustration. "Seriously, you two? You've got to be kidding."

Spock turned, all traces of a smile gone. He arched one thin brow. "You did wish us to quit fighting, did you not, Captain? We have done as you asked."

Jim groaned and Bones dropped a hand on his shoulder. "Didn't think the hobgoblin had it in him."

Jim groaned again and dropped his head into his hands. "Not now, Bones."


	10. Hobgoblins and Hospitality - Bones

It was your first day on the Enterprise. You were part of a crew brought on to replace others that were either rotating out or had lost their lives in the ship's last battle. The five of you presented yourselves to the first officer and you bit back a smile at seeing your cousin again. 

Spock's mother and your mother were sisters who, surprisingly enough, had both married Vulcans. Your lives couldn't have been more different. Spock was raised on Vulcan and held all the normal characteristics of the race. You had been raised on Earth, and while your eyebrows had a bit of an unusual tilt to them and your ears were perhaps more pointed than usual, you easily passed for human. 

You might not have grown up together but the two of you were great friends, taking the opportunity to exchange letters when you weren't in close proximity to each other. After talking to all of the new crew members and instructing them to report to their respective commanders, Spock came to stand in front of you. 

"Y/N, it is good to see you," he said, looking down at you with a blank expression.

You grinned. "It is good to see you, Spock. Mother sends her best wishes."

He began to walk down the hall and you turned to fall into step with him. As a science officer, he was your commanding officer so you had no one else to report to. "And how is your mother? I assume she recovered from her illness."

"Yes, she's all better." You wrapped a hand around his arm and squeezed in a comforting gesture. "I am sorry again about Amanda. I loved your mother very much." While you had conveyed your condolences to both him and Sarek at the time, you hadn't seen either of them in person since your aunt passed.

"Your sympathy is appreciated," he responded with a nod of his head. He gestured to a doorway to the left. "This is the lab where you will be currently assigned. I have an interesting project for you."

***

(Three months later)

You sat with Spock and the rest of the bridge crew during dinner as was your habit. At first, it had been a little awkward at least on your end but you'd quickly warmed up to all of them and they to you. Except Dr. Leonard McCoy. 

It wasn't that you didn't like the doctor. He was unquestionably attractive and beyond friendly with you, but you couldn't stand the way he was with Spock. Which was unfortunate, because under other circumstances you could see yourself falling for the grumpy ass. So to protect your heart, you went out of your way to maintain a professional relationship with the man they called Bones. 

"Are you excited for the mission tomorrow, Y/N?" Uhura asked and you smiled at her. Tomorrow was your first mission with an away team and you couldn't wait.

"What do you think?" you replied which made her laugh at your excitement. 

"Listen you pointy-eared bastard," Bones said and you jerked your gaze to the end of the table where the doctor, your cousin and the captain were engaged in a heated discussion. Bones was pointing his fork at Spock who simply looked back with an arched brow. 

Your smile grew tight as you struggled not to show your irritation. Spock was more than capable of defending himself if need be. It wasn't your place to intervene. 

"Y/N?" Uhura saying your name brought your attention back to her. She darted her eyes between you and the end of the table and frowned in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing. Now what were you saying?"

***

The next day found you on a planet with Bones and two security officers. You were collecting samples of plant life to take back to the Enterprise for cataloging and experimentation.  You were scraping some purple moss off a large rock when you heard laughter. Ceasing your actions, you turned, searching for the sound. 

"What's wrong, Y/L/N?" Bones asked and you held up a hand to quiet him. The laughter came again.

"You hear that?"

"I sure do," he muttered in a low voice. He started toward the sound, being sure to move slow and keep himself close to the rocks for coverage. You followed closely behind him, almost running into him when he came to a stop. "Damn hobgoblin told me there was less than a .1% chance we'd run into any natives in this area."

You stiffened and clenched your jaw. 

"We should go," he said finally and turned around so you could meet back up with the security officers.

Once you were back on the ship, you made to hurry back to the lab to write up your report. "Hold up, Y/N," Bones said and you stopped at the doorway. 

You plastered on the best fake smile you could muster and turned to face him. "Doctor?"

"Listen," he started and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "I was wondering if maybe you would join me for dinner."

"I usually do," you said, deliberately misunderstanding and turned to walk away. 

He grasped your arm lightly and turned you back to face him. "No, I meant just you and me, like a d-date."

You ran your eyes over him and shoved down that little part of you that was screaming in joy. "Considering the way you feel about me, I don't think that's a good idea, Leonard."

He scowled. "You shouldn't go out with me because I like you?"

"Dr. McCoy, Commander Spock is my cousin. Like him, I am the product of a human mother and Vulcan father. So, I too am a green blooded hobgoblin though my ears aren't quite as pointed and neither of us are bastards. Don't let that stop you from using your usual colorful descriptors however. Good day, Doctor." With that you turned and went to your quarters, leaving a flabbergasted Bones behind.

***

That evening you chose to eat in your quarters. You'd just finished when there was knock on the door. You slid it open to find Spock. You smiled and gestured for him to come in. 

He stood with his arms behind his back and watched as you cleaned up from your meal. "What can I do for you, Spock?" you asked when he remained silent.

"Dr. McCoy just apologized to me."

"Is that so?" you asked without looking at him. "For what?"

"He claims it was brought to his attention that I might have been offended by some of his more colorful names for me." He paused but you didn't say anything. Finally Spock spoke again, "I assured him that would be illogical on my part."

You spun to face him. "Why would it be illogical to be offended, Spock? He's so rude to you."

"Dr. McCoy often calls those he considers his friend by names others would consider an insult. I have simply learned it is his way. He means nothing by it."

"That doesn't make it right," you grumbled and crossed your arms over your chest.

He tilted his head slightly as he studied you. "I also believe it would be illogical for you to dismiss Dr. McCoy's feelings for you because of this. He is, at heart, a good man."

You felt your cheeks heat as another knock came at your door. You gave Spock a smile and moved past him to open the door. An anxious looking Bones stood on the other side. His eyes moved past you to land on Spock. "I didn't know you had company. I can come another time."

"On the contrary doctor, I was just leaving," Spock said and left with a nod to you both.

"What can I do for you, Doctor?" 

"Could we start over you and I?"

You hesitated before answering long enough that Bones started to leave. "I'd like that," you finally said, taking pity on him. 

He smiled. "In that case, Y/N Y/L/N, would you allow me to show you some genuine Southern hospitality tomorrow evening?"

Your smile mirrored his. "That sounds like a grand idea, Leonard."


	11. The Wedding - Spock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Corporate AU

You slammed the phone on your desk back into its cradle. The asshole you'd had an off and on relationship with for the past year decided to break things off for good. A week before your sister's wedding. Now what were you going to do? If you showed up without a date, you'd never hear the end of it from your family. 

Voices in the hall outside your door drew your attention and you looked up to see your boss Jim Kirk walking by with the corporate attorney, Spock. Both men gave you a smile and a nod of their head as they saw you glance at them. Your eyes lingered on Spock, wondering what he was doing next Friday night. 

Later that afternoon, you were heading to Kirk's office when you spotted him and Spock in one of the conference rooms, papers spread across the table in front of them. You backed up to the door and leaned on the frame. "You two have had your heads together all day. Something I can help with?" you asked.

Kirk looked up in surprise before smiling while Spock merely glanced in your direction before turning back to the paper in his hand. "We're trying to make sure everything is line for the acquisition of those 120 acres. I don't want any surprises." He paused for a moment. "Do you think you and Uhura could take a look at those environmental reports one more time?"

You smiled. "I already did. I was on my way to bring them to your office when I saw you in here." You handed him the thick bundle of papers. "Everything looks good. We've got those 10 acres that will need to be set aside but you already knew about that."

He nodded and smiled at you again. "Perfect. Thank you Y/N, I don't know what we'd do without you always being one step ahead."

Spock arched a brow. "I suppose we'd always be a step behind then."

Your lips twitched. For the most part Spock was very straight-laced and serious but occasionally he let another side peek through, always to your amusement. "Actually I had a favor to ask of you, Spock."

A look of surprise flashed briefly over his face before he nodded for you to continue.

"My sister is getting married next Friday. I've already told my entire family I'm bringing a date only to have him cancel on me. I was hoping you'd accompany me." You did your best to act like his answer didn't matter to you one way or another. And it shouldn't, you had other people you could ask, but you wanted to go with Spock.

"I'm available next Friday," Kirk said with a smirk. 

You huffed a laugh. "No thank you, Jim. We tried that once if you remember. I don't care to repeat the experience. Besides, my brother hates you."

He frowned. "Hate's a strong word."

"You hit on his wife while you were on a date with me. He hates you."

"I would be pleased to accompany you," Spock said interrupting the two of you. "And I consider it an honor, not a favor."

Your cheeks heated and you glanced at the floor before looking back at him. "The venue is not far from here and I need to be there at six so I was just going to get ready and leave from here if that's okay."

He nodded. "I will do the same. We can take my car and I'll bring you back to yours later."

"Sounds perfect." You gave him one more warm smile before returning to your office. 

***

It was a week later and you were in your office getting ready for your sister's wedding. You were one of the bridesmaids and while you'd had the dress on before for fittings, it still blew your mind every time you slipped it on. You and your sister were complete opposites when it came to fashion. You preferred pant suits and jeans while she wore designer dresses. That difference had never been more apparent than with this dress. At least it was more comfortable than it looked. 

Your sister had given you a crystal clip to wear in the side of your hair, but otherwise she wanted it natural. You finished your makeup, grabbed your small wallet and your lip gloss. Spock had told you he'd meet you in the lobby so you headed toward the stairs. Fortunately it was Friday so pretty much everyone had left. 

You groaned as you started down the stairs and caught sight of several of your co-workers waiting in the lobby. Your eyes ran over Spock as he stood talking to Kirk. He wore a different suit than what you were used to seeing on him, but he looked good. 

"Holy shit!" 

The exclamation drew your attention to Kirk who stood gaping up at you. Everyone else turned to follow his gaze and your friends' mouths dropped open. You gave them a little wave. "Hello. I wasn't expecting anyone but Spock to still be here."

"I wanted to see you in your dress and they just hung around with me," Nyota Uhura said, her hands covering her mouth as she took in your appearance. "You look amazing."

Scott, Sulu, and Chekov all chimed in with words of agreement. Your face heated as you gave them a smile. "Thank you."

You turned to your date for the evening to find him still looking a little stunned. "Could you slip these in a pocket for me?" you asked, handing over your items. He opened his jacket and dropped everything into an inside pocket. 

He held out a hand which you gratefully took. "We should go," he said. "We don't want you to be late."

"Bye," you said to everyone as he led you out of the building to a sleek car parked along the curb. It was your turn to stop and gape. "Is this your car?"

"I certainly hope so," he said as he opened the door for you. You settled in your seat feeling like you had entered a space ship. He helped scoop your dress inside then shut the door. 

"This car is amazing," you told him as he got in on the other side. 

"And you are stunning," he replied without looking at you as he pulled out into traffic.

You beamed at him and put your hand on his thigh. He took the opportunity to lace his fingers with yours. 

***

It was finally time for the reception and you found Spock waiting for you as you walked into the room. He looped an arm around your waist before leaning down to speak in your ear. "Your sister made the wrong decision picking that dress for you."

You stomach  dropped. You thought he'd liked the dress.

"I couldn't keep my eyes off you," he finished, instantly making you feel better. "I'm not sure I even know what she looks like."

You laughed. "She's the one in black." Yes, your sister had worn black and put her attendants in white and silver. 

"Oh, yeah. That one." He smirked. He pressed a soft kiss to the side of your head. 

You turned to face him fully and used a hand on his cheek to keep his head turned in your direction. "You missed," you said before leaning forward and pressing your lips to his. 

He didn't hesitate to return the gesture. 

For the rest of the evening, you two couldn't keep your hands off each other. No matter what you were doing, you were always touching. Holding hands, arms wrapped around each other or just a hand on a thigh. Neither of you were shy with the kisses either. 

That affection lasted throughout the weekend and it was late Sunday before Spock took you back to the garage to get your car. Even then he followed you home. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.


	12. The Lady said No - Spock

Your shift had just ended and you were currently sat across the table from Capt. James T Kirk eating your dinner. Your penchant for finding trouble and diving in headfirst had assured you a great friendship with your captain. By extension you were friends with Scotty and Bones as well. 

Spock on the other hand barely tolerated you on the best days. As head security officer, he felt you should be keeping the captain out of trouble instead of encouraging his reckless behavior. To be honest, he was probably right but you knew Jim would find trouble whether you helped him or not. At least this way you were normally right by his side where you could offer him protection.

You were laughing at a story Jim had just told about his days at the academy as Bones and Scotty joined you. "Hello, boys," you said.

"Y/N," they both greeted. 

"What's so funny?" Bones asked with an arched brow.

"Jim was just telling me about an incident with you, him, two girls and bottle of tequila on top of the library," you managed to get out with a straight face.

Bones rolled his eyes and his cheeks flushed. "You're still telling that story?" he grumbled to his best friend.

Jim merely laughed in response.

Your gaze fell on Spock approaching behind the captain. You groaned, making the others look.

"Spock," Jim greeted with a smile. 

"Captain," Spock said, nodding to the others, his eyes stopping only briefly on you. "I have just received word that a delegation from Starfleet command will be boarding tomorrow."

"Why?" Jim asked.

"Excuse me?"

"What is their reason for coming aboard my ship?" Kirk clarified.

"The stated purpose for their visit is listed simply as a diplomatic training mission," the Vulcan said. 

"Inspection," you and the other officers said in unison. 

"Are we ready for it?" Jim asked, looking around the table.

"Medical's good. We just did inventory this week so everything's where it should be," Bones said.

"I'll run through engineering just to make sure there's nothing lying about but we should be good too," Scotty said next.

"As always, the science department is in order, Captain," Spock added.

"Security's good to go," you stated.

"Are you certain, Lieutenant Y/L/N? It is imperative all departments be in top order," Spock said. 

You blinked at him several times. "Are you certain the science department is in order, Commander Spock? It is imperative all departments are in top order."

"I have ascertained by your response that you were insulted by my inquiry. That was not my intention, Lieutenant. Your disregard for regulations is well-known, however. And while that is for some reason tolerated by our captain, Starfleet will not be so lax in their requirements," Spock explained with a neutral expression.  

Irritation flooded through you and you briefly considered telling him off. "Now, Spock don't be so complimentary. You'll make me blush." Nothing annoyed Spock more than you not taking him seriously.

His lips pinched together but he didn't respond. 

"While I appreciate you looking out for the ship, Spock, you could eat off the floor in the security areas. Y/N runs a tight crew," Jim said. You gave him a smile and a nod of thanks.

"Do you have the names of those boarding tomorrow?" you asked.

"I don't see why that information is needed. They are all Starfleet officers and their advisors," Spock responded, which didn't really answer your question at all.

"I don't like strangers on my ship, Commander. That just leads to surprises."

"Your ship?" Scotty and Kirk said at the same time.

You nodded once. "My ship."

***

The next morning you awaited your visitors in the transporter room with Spock and Kirk by your side. Kirk was here to greet and take part of the delegation to the bridge. You and Spock were to show the rest around the ship. 

Your eyes took in the delegates as they appeared, your gaze freezing on the tall man in the back. He met your gaze and smirked. _Shit_. _See Spock, this is why we need names,_ you thought. Lewis Smith was your ex-boyfriend. He also happened to be a big enough dick that you had a restraining order against him. 

"Lieutenant," Spock said drawing your attention. "Is there a problem?" He looked between you and your ex. 

You straightened your spine. "No, sir." You were determined to not give Spock any reason to find fault with you during the inspection.

You fell into step at the back of the group, hands clasped behind you. 

"Hello, Y/N," Lewis said in a low voice as he fell back to walk with you. 

"What are you doing here, Lewis?"

"Oh, don't use that tone with me. You know you missed me," he teased.

You pretended to think about it for a moment. "Nope. Not even a little bit. Now I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk to me."

"You always liked it when I talked before. All the dirty things I'd ask you to do to me. All the things I told you I'd do to you," he said. 

You clenched your jaw as you opened and closed your fists, doing your best not to just turn and punch the asshole. Your eyes darted to the rest of the group. Spock glanced back at you with a furrowed brow but you didn't believe he'd heard anything. You sure as hell hoped not anyway.

There was a light brush against your hip and you jerked your head to the side to see Lewis running a finger along your side. You sighed in annoyance and took a step away from him but he only followed.

"Come on, Y/N. I can stay on board for a couple of days. I'm due some time. Don't tell me you aren't dying to wrap your legs around me and scream my name."

"Fuck off, Lewis," you hiss. "If I wasn't trying to be on my best behavior your ass would already be in the brig.” 

He leaned closer. "Don't you mean 'fuck me, Lewis'? It can't be that hard for you to remember how to say it. Let me help."

You cringed away as he moved toward you. Suddenly, Lewis was no longer beside you. You stopped and blinked in surprise to find the Vulcan Commander had your ass of an ex pressed against the wall of the hallway. "Spock?" you asked, your voice much higher than usual.

He glanced at you over his shoulder. "Am I correct in my deduction that this is Mr. Lewis Smith?" His voice was tight, furious.

"Y-yes," you managed to stutter out.

Spock twisted his head to the side as if stretching tight muscles in his neck. You were certain you hadn't seen him this angry since Jim managed to appear back on the Enterprise after he'd been kicked off. 

"What is the meaning of this?" One of the delegates asked.

"Why was this man not listed on the roster that was sent to us?" Spock asked instead of answering.

"It was a last minute change. The advisor that normally accompanies me was ill," the same man answered.

"Lieutenant Y/L/N has a restraining order against this man," Spock stated shocking you. You had no idea that he knew of your past with Lewis. 

"I-I didn't know she was on the Enterprise. I swear," Lewis stuttered out trying to defend himself.

"Even if that is true, you have not been more than three feet from her since you arrived on this vessel. You should have immediately returned upon realizing she was onboard," Spock said. "In addition, I believe she stated quite clearly she did not desire your attention."

You glanced at the other delegates. "It's not true anyway. He was served with notice of my placement to ensure there were no instances like this."

"Y/N, what is going on here?"

You spun to see your captain approaching with the rest of the delegates. "Captain, what are you doing here?"

"I received a message that there was an issue," explained the man behind him. 

Kirk narrowed his eyes at Spock and the man pinned to the wall. "Who is that?" he asked.

"Lewis Smith," Spock all but growled.

"Your ex Lewis Smith?" Kirk asked you.

You gaped at him. "Are crew members past relationships required study on this ship or what?"

He put a hand on your shoulder. "Only the ones that might pose a threat to a friend," he said with a smile. Damn it. You couldn't be mad at him when he said that.

"We have just been informed that this man is in violation of a protection order. We will see him prosecuted when we return," one of the men said.

"I think perhaps we should cut our visit short this time. I'm sure everything is in order as usual," another said and the rest nodded. Spock released Lewis and he stumbled away from the wall. You stepped back as Spock grabbed your ex by the back of the neck and steered him to the transporter room. 

You didn't say a word as you followed behind, Kirk right beside you with an amused expression on his face. Once the delegates were gone, Spock turned to you, all signs of anger gone from his person. 

"Thank you for your intervention, Commander," you said, feeling your cheeks heat slightly.

"It was my pleasure, Lieutenant. I believe it's time for lunch. Shall we?" He offered you his arm and you looped your arm in his. As you walked down the hall you glanced over your shoulder at Kirk who stood gaping at the two of you. 

"Coming, Captain?"


	13. Merry Christmas - everybody

You loved any chance to celebrate and have a party, but your favorite holiday was Christmas. Snow on the ground, lights on the houses, good food and time spent with family. Of course, it was nothing like that in space. The only decorations were those that the crewmembers put up in their own workspaces or in their quarters. The lack of Christmas cheer was disturbing. You had to fix it.

"Hello, Captain," you said as you dropped into the empty chair across from him as he ate his dinner.

He arched a brow. "You've got that tone, Y/N. You make me nervous when you get that tone. It means you want something."

You were really that transparent? "Fine I'll make it quick. Christmas party."

"Huh?"

"I want to have a Christmas party on the observation deck," you explained.

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "I don't know, Y/N. That sounds like a lot of work to be trying to do at the last minute."

"It's not that much work. As long as there is food, liquor and decorations, what else do we need? I'll take care of it all."

His piercing blue eyes studied you for a long moment before he finally nodded. "All right. Do your thing."

You grinned and hurried off to begin your plans.

***

You were looking over the list of things you needed to do during a lull in your work the next day. You were pretty sure you'd thought of everything. "What are you working on, Darlin'?" your boss Leonard McCoy asked as he came to stand next to you.

You smiled and bounced excitedly on the balls of your feet. "Jim said I could have a Christmas party."

Leonard chuckled. "And that's got you this excited?"

You nudged him with your elbow. "You'd be excited too if you'd ever been to one of my Christmas parties."

He glanced at the time. "Tell you what, we've been quiet around here today. Why don't you go work on your party. I'll call you if we need you."

You jumped in happiness and threw your arms around your friend's neck. "Thank you, Len. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

He hugged you back then pulled away laughing. "All right. Get out of here."

Immediately you headed out of sick bay and toward the bridge. Spock had sent you a message asking you to see him when you had a moment. You knew he was still on duty but Kirk wouldn't care if you were on the bridge. At least he never had before. 

"Permission to enter the bridge?"

"Given," Kirk answered without looking up from his PADD. You stepped quickly past him and over to your favorite science officer.

"Hello, Commander," you said with a grin. "You wanted to see me?"

Spock turned to you with an arched brow. "Indeed. Come with me, Lieutenant. Captain, I shall return momentarily."

Kirk waved the two of you away and you followed Spock to one of the labs. "I have a contribution to make to your event," he said as he approached one of the tables. He turned back around with a small pine tree and a jar in his hands. You took both of them and looked at the Vulcan in confusion. "The jar contains an accelerated growth formula. Please use extreme caution, giving only small doses until the desired size is reached."

You grinned as you realized he'd given you a Christmas tree for your party. "Thank you, Spock but I didn't think you'd care about a holiday party."

He laced his hands behind his back. "My mother was always very fond of the holiday. She would be disappointed if I didn't give what assistance I could."

"Thank you again." You took your new treasure to the observation deck. After positioning the tree in the corner, you gave it a bit of the growth formula. You hid the jar and then headed toward engineering. 

"Scotty!" You called for your favorite Scotsman. 

He stuck his head out of his office. "Aye, lass! What brings you down here, Y/N?"

 "Let's talk about lights," you said with a smile.

***

The day of the party came quickly. You were currently in the observation deck making sure everything was in order. The tree, with its top now brushing the ceiling, stood in the corner. Lights and ornaments decorated every inch. Garland borrowed from various crew members was strewn around the room. Scotty had come through with the lights and they draped around the perimeter, the front of the bar, the buffet table, anywhere you could put them really.

You turned when you heard the door open. Kirk, Spock, Len and Scotty all came through, looking around the room in awe. "I have to admit, Y/N, I'm impressed," said Kirk and the others voiced their agreement.

You shrugged. "Thank you, but I had lots of help." As soon as you said the words, people began filing into the room and you moved away to play hostess.

The party had been going on for several hours when you found yourself a seat in the corner and propped your feet up on the empty chair across from you. You leaned your head against the back of your chair and closed your eyes. After a moment, hands picked up your feet and settled them back onto a lap. They pulled off your shoes and started to massage your feet.

"That feels too good for me to complain, but I really hope you're my boyfriend or he's gonna be pissed," you said, groaning slightly as the fingers expertly worked the sore spots on the soles of your feet.

"Nice try, Y/N, but you don't have a boyfriend," Kirk said. 

"She doesn't? Well, that's news to me," a heavily accented voice said, making you smile. Scotty's accent always got thicker when he was irritated.

"Scotty?" Kirk asked in surprise. 

You smirked but kept your eyes shut as your legs were shifted to a new lap. Your boyfriend picked up where your captain had left off. "Hello, lass," he grumbled as his thumbs dug into your sore feet.

"Hello, Scotty." Your smile widened. "You know, you were the one that didn't want to tell everyone we were dating yet."

"Yeah, well, Captain perfect hair should learn to just keep his hands to himself."

You laughed outright at that. You couldn't help it. Swinging your feet off his lap, you sat up and leaned toward him. You cupped his face in your hands and leaned forward to kiss him. As you started to pull away, he hooked a hand around the back of your neck and pulled you back in. 

You only moved away when you heard applause and Kirk yelled, "Go, Scotty."

Chuckles shook your body as you pressed your forehead to your boyfriend's. "Merry Christmas, Scotty."

"Merry Christmas, Lass," he responded then kissed you once more. 


	14. The Girl Friend - Kirk

You and Jim Kirk had been friends forever. Best friends. You did everything together from nearly getting yourselves killed joyriding in a certain car to Starfleet to the Enterprise. You were also there for every girlfriend, every broken heart and every one-night stand. Well, not actually there, that would be awkward. But you did learn from an early age not to befriend any of Jim's women. They either came crying to you when the relationship reached its inevitable end or blamed you for the break up.

You never understood that actually, because while you had been in love with James T Kirk from roughly the moment you laid eyes on him, that feeling was not returned. So you admired his sparkling blue eyes, sexy grin and perfect hair from afar. You didn't dare confess, knowing how awkward that would make things between the two of you. It was better to be friends and watch him romance his latest conquest than not be involved in his life at all. You just had to keep reminding yourself of that.

"Y/N! Wait up," Jim's familiar voice came down the hall pulling you from your thoughts. You turned to find him chasing after you. 

You arched a brow as you looked him over. "How may I help you, Captain?"

He scowled. "Don't call me that. It sounds so weird coming from you. Listen, I need your help with something. Will you go down to the surface with me tomorrow?"

The Enterprise was currently in orbit around a leisure planet so you could all have some well-deserved shore leave. "I have things to do tomorrow, Jim."

"What, like replenishing your snack supply?" he said with a chuckle.

"Don't be acting like you don't eat half of it, Jim."

"Listen, you can still get your food. I'll even help but I really need your help tomorrow. It's important and you're the only one that can do it." His bright blue puppy dog eyes stared at you waiting for your answer. 

You sighed. "All right. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes," he said and gave a little fist pump before walking back the way he'd come.

***

You turned to Jim as you arrived on the surface of the planet the next morning. "All right, Jim. Why am I here?"

He raked a hand through his hair, looking more nervous than you'd seen him in quite some time. "I need your opinion on something."

"What could you possibly need my opinion on?" You crossed your arms over your chest. Jim never listened to your opinion about anything, even when he asked for it.

"An engagement ring."

Your eyes widened and your heart skipped. Pain pierced through you as you struggled to suck in a breath. There was a bench nearby and you went over to sit on it. "You? Engaged?" It was hard to believe that Jim would take that step, especially since you didn't think he was seeing anyone seriously right now.

His eyes lit as he nodded. "I finally found her, Y/N. The perfect woman."

Jim had carefully laid out all the requirements for his perfect woman to you when you were teenagers. You never thought he'd find her. You rubbed a hand across your chest trying to ease the persistent ache that seemed to have taken up residence. You wanted to be happy for your friend, but it hurt to think of him with someone else. And while he may have a reputation for being a ladies man, he wouldn't propose unless he meant it with every ounce of his being. That was good news for his soon-to-be fiance but not so much for you.

You took a deep breath and sat up. "Who is it?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I've kept it a secret this long. You can wait until after I propose just like everyone else."

You simply nodded and gave him a forced smile. "All right then. What did you have in mind?"

"Come on," he said and grasped your hand in his to pull you along behind him. He dragged you into a nearby jewelry store, the lights making the gems in the cases sparkle and shine. "Now, we have to find the perfect ring for the perfect girl."

"This would be a lot easier if I knew who she was," you grumbled as you walked over to look in one of the cases. It was filled with large, obnoxious rings. "Is she high-maintenance, Jim? Please tell me she's not high-maintenance."

He laughed. "No. Not at all."

"Okay, you don't want any of these then. What else can you tell me about her?" you asked as you wandered to the next case. 

"She's beautiful. Funny. Smart," he started in on his list, each word like a knife to your heart.

"None of that is going to help pick a ring, Jim. What kinds of things does she like, what is her personality like? Give me something that helps me know who she is."

When he didn't say anything you turned to look at him. His eyes were locked on you, a twinkle in them as he thought. "She is the most amazing woman I've ever met. And it's not because she's stunning, because she is, but she's just so...real. That's the only word I can think of. She doesn't put up with any of my shit. When I'm being an ass she tells me. She tells me the truth even when I don't want to hear it." He raked a hand through his hair. "She finds joy in the simplest things. I would do anything in my power to give her the universe but all she wants is to cuddle and watch old movies together. She's perfect."

The corner of his mouth curved up in a smile as a distant look came to his eyes. The little of your heart that remained shattered. "You really love her, don't you?" you asked even though you really didn't want to hear the answer. 

"More than anything," he said, his voice quiet.

You glanced down at the case in front of you. It was filled with intricately detailed rings with smaller stones. Simple and elegant. "I think what you're looking for is here."

He came to stand beside you and smiled. He grabbed your upper arms and tugged you forward to put a kiss on your forehead. "Perfect. Thank you."

You stepped back as he looked at the rings. "I'll be outside," you told him and hurried from the shop. After darting around the corner, you leaned against the wall and let hot tears fall down your face. You covered your mouth with your hand to stifle the sobs that were trying to come out. You managed to get yourself under control before Jim emerged from the store with a grin.

"You okay, Y/N?" he asked as his gaze fell on you. 

You put that fake smile on again. The practiced one you used every time he introduced you to a new girl. "Just fine."

"Come on," he said with a jerk of his head. "There's one more thing I wanted to show you."

He walked with his hands in his pockets and you fell into step beside him. You found yourself talking about things the two of you had done when you were much younger and much more naive.

"Well, what do you think?" Jim asked finally and you looked around to find that you were standing in the middle of a gorgeous garden filled with flowers. 

You gasped and turned in a slow circle to take in everything around you. The foliage was beautiful. For a moment, you felt like you were in a fairytale. As you came back around to face your best friend, you were astonished to find him on one knee. "What are you doing, Jim?" You managed to ask as he smirked at you.

"Well, I'm trying to propose to the love of my life."

He couldn't be talking about you. You even glanced over your shoulder to make sure no one stood behind you. He took your hand in his and ran his thumb over your knuckles. Tears came to your eyes again though this time they were tears of happiness. Never in a million years did you think this would happen.

"Y/N, I've been an idiot for a good portion of my life. I fumbled through, bouncing from woman to woman, looking for something that was right beside me the entire time. You are the only person I can't imagine living without. The thought terrifies me, in fact. I don't want to waste anymore time. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up the same way. Be mine, Y/N. Marry me?"

Tears ran down your cheeks as you nodded. "Absolutely."

He slid the ring onto your finger before jumping to his feet and pulling you into his arms. His lips crashed into yours and you hungrily kissed him back. "I love you so much, Y/N," he whispered once he pulled back to look down at you.

"I've loved you forever, Captain." You grinned. "Y/N Kirk has a nice ring to it, I think."

"Damn right it does," he agreed then pulled you into another breathtaking kiss.

 

 


	15. Friends with Benefits - Spock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the Spock. It was mostly requests. ;)

You were a problem solver. It wasn't an official job, but that's what everyone on the Enterprise called you. You had a unique way of looking at things and often came up with solutions no one else had thought of. As such, you spent a lot of time with Kirk, Bones, Scotty and Spock and were often privy to information you otherwise wouldn't be. When you weren't busy trying to solve everyone else's problems, you worked in the science department investigating flora from different planets. 

Lately everyone seemed to be having more issues than usual so you'd been spending even more of your time with the officers. Today however was a long overdue day off and you'd been spending it curled up in your quarters reading. Deciding you needed to get out for awhile, you went to get something to eat. You grabbed your food and were making your way to a table when someone stopped you. 

"Hey, Y/N," the brunette said. You'd seen her around before but couldn't recall her name at the moment. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," you answered with a frown. 

"What's going on with you and Captain Kirk?" She smirked as she asked the question. 

You raised your brows in annoyance. "We're friends."

Another woman came to stand near her and you shifted your gaze between the two of them. " _Just_ friends? Or friends with benefits?" the brunette asked with a chuckle.

Now your patience was gone. "I already answered your question and I fail to see how that's any of your business or concern. Now if you'll excuse me," you said and turned to continue your journey to a table. The petty gossip amongst the crew had always annoyed you.

"I'm sure she's 'just friends' with Scotty and McCoy as well," the woman's friend giggled. 

Your steps halted for a moment.

"Don't forget Spock," the brunette said. 

"Oh, please. Like he'd loosen up enough to be intimate with anyone," the other replied. 

You slammed your tray onto the nearest table and did your best to ignore them. Though you made sure to sit where you could keep an eye on them. As you ate you watched them sit with other crew members and laugh with an occasional glance in your direction. You barely acknowledged your friends as they sat at your table. 

Finally, you glanced around at them to find them lost in conversation. "How long has this been going on?" you asked and they all turned to look at you. 

"What?" McCoy asked, his brow furrowed.

You pointed across the room to the two women with your fork. "That."

You might not have noticed it, but you knew Kirk would have. It was just how he was. You watched as everyone but Spock looked uncomfortable. He just studied you with a frown. Kirk and Bones exchanged a look and shifted in their seats while Scotty rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. 

"Well, lass...the thing is..." Scotty started and trailed off.

You scoffed in disbelief and put your fork down. "Seriously? You all knew and you didn't say anything?"

Picking up from your voice that you were more annoyed than angry, Kirk grinned at you. "What were you going to do about it?" He shrugged. "And it's not like any of us minded being paired with you."

"Maybe I don't want to be paired with you. Did you ever think of that?" Kirk frowned, looking almost hurt and you laughed.

"Forgive the interruption, but could someone explain to me what it is precisely that you are discussing?" Spock asked. He briefly glanced around the table before his eyes settled back on you.

Your lips twisted into a smirk. This should be interesting. The other three men turned to you and you shook your head. "Oh, no. You explain it. Consider it your punishment for not mentioning it before."

Kirk sighed and leaned forward. "Okay, Spock. See the thing is...Well, sometimes when...People have been..." He stopped and leaned back. "Nope. Can't do it."

"What Kirk is tryin' to say is that people assume that the lass has..." Scotty cut off and turned to look at McCoy. "Bones?"

You leaned back in your chair with your arms crossed over your chest smirking in amusement.

McCoy groaned then muttered something under his breath as he ran a hand down his face. "Look, Spock. There's no delicate way to say this, but there are rumors going around the ship that Y/N is sleeping with us."

Spock arched a brow. "That is illogical. The Lieutenant has her own quarters."

You snorted a laugh and Spock gave a little smirk you're certain no one but you saw. He knew perfectly well what they were getting at.

"Don't be dense, Spock," Kirk snapped. "They think she's having sex with the three of us."

"But there are four of us, Captain," Spock corrected.

"Yeah, they don't think she's doing anything with _you_ , Spock," McCoy said sourly.

"I see," Spock said as he pushed his chair back from the table and glanced around the room before making a beeline to the women in question.

"What's he doin'?" Scotty asked surprised.

You shook your head. "I have no idea. Let's go find out."

The four of you stood a short distance away as Spock got the attention of the table where the women sat. "Excuse me, but it has come to my attention that you believe Lieutenant Y/L/N has been having intimate relations with the Captain, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott. I feel it is my duty to inform you that this conclusion is illogical. Ms. Y/L/N is my fiancee and spends the evenings with me. Therefore she does not have the time to entertain another man, let alone three."

Everyone at the table gaped at him with wide eyes while you chuckled. 

"Fiancee? Since when?" Kirk asked quietly. 

You held up your hand to show him the ring. "Last night. He proposed on the observation deck."

"When were you planning on telling us, lass?" Scotty asked with a frown. 

"At dinner. You three don't have to know everything about our relationship, you know," you said as you frowned right back.

Bones snorted beside you. "Oh we know. You didn't even tell us you were dating for six months."

Someone cleared their throat and you turned away from your friends to find Spock standing in front of you with a smile. Leaning forward, he captured your lips with his. You were stunned for a second and then returned the gesture eagerly. "What was that for?" you asked as he pulled away. Spock had never been one for public displays or declarations.

"I believe the crew members were having difficulty accepting that we are indeed in a relationship."

You shook your head and grasped Spock's arm to pull him from the room. His public display deserved a reward in your opinion. You glanced over your shoulder to Kirk. "Spock is suddenly not feeling well, Captain. He'll be taking the rest of the day off."


	16. Sparks - Scotty x OFC

It didn't take Nicole Sparks long to decide she didn't care for Captain James T. Kirk. He'd been captain for about five minutes before he started wreaking havoc on her ship. Currently, she was pulling herself along the lines at the top of the room to get from one side of engineering to the other as quickly as possible. Harnesses and ropes were draped all over the department as well as various other strategic locales through out the ship. She liked to work fast and efficiently. Ladders were neither. 

Christopher Pike, the Enterprise's rightful captain, had long ago left Sparks to her own devices when it came to her ship. Or to her personal appearance for that matter. Her dark hair bore bright blue streaks and was usually pulled into pigtails. It certainly wasn't regulation, but the last time Pike made her change it, the ship hadn't run right for a week. She swore it wasn't her doing but it had straightened out as soon as the blue was back on her head. 

Sparks was Pike's secret weapon. In her hands, the Enterprise accomplished things no other ship in its class could. All he had to do was ask and she made it happen. But Pike wasn't in charge right now, Kirk was. And he didn't know anything about Nicole Sparks or what she was capable of. 

In fact, the only reason that she knew anything about what was going on elsewhere was because she kept getting messages from personnel scattered throughout the ship. So, if any one noticed the shields were a little stronger or the weapons a little deadlier, they had no idea who to thank. Not that she minded. Tinkering behind the scenes was what she did best. 

When the Enterprise began to shake and shudder violently, Sparks hurried to a different part of engineering. It only took a glance at the monitors in front of her to realize they weren't moving despite being at full warp. "Damn it."

She unhooked herself from the lead she was on so she dropped fully to the walkway. Reaching over, she pressed a large yellow button and alarms began to sound throughout engineering, warning the workers to vacate. She took a second to hook herself onto the nearby railing before her fingers continued to fly over the control panel in front of her. She was diverting power from everywhere it could possibly be spared. It wasn't going to work.

"Kirk to engineering. Get us out of here, Scotty," came over the intercom.

"Who the hell is Scotty?" she muttered.

Even as she had the thought, a voice with a thick Scottish brogue answered. "You bet your arse, Captain." The man rounded a corner and slid to a stop as he saw her at the control panel.

"Everything is already at max. I've diverted all the power I can," she yelled with a roll of her eyes. The Scot was cute but she'd never seen him before in her life. She wasn't about to let him run willynilly in her ship.

"Who is this?" Kirk asked.

"I'm your damned Chief Engineer. We're caught in the gravitational well," she answered.

"Scotty?" Kirk asked, ignoring her. 

"She's right, Cap'n She's already giving her all she's got."

The ship continued to shake and shimmy. Sparks narrowed her eyes as a crack appeared in one of the walls. 

"All she's got's not good enough. What else you got?" Kirk yelled, his voice heavy with panic.

Sparks pulled up another screen. "Tell them to hold on."

Scotty looked at what she was doing with wide eyes. He grabbed her and kissed her on the cheek. Her face heated without her permission. "Bloody brilliant, lass. Cap'n, we're going to eject the warp core and detonate it. It may push us away, but we canna promise anything."

"Do it, do it, do it," Kirk screamed. 

Sparks grabbed hold of the Scot with one hand and pushed the button with the other. "Hold on, Scot."

He turned them so her back was against the railing and put a hand on either side of her waist to box her in. He pressed against her to keep her pinned and she held onto him with both hands. They were jolted when the core detonated but they managed to stay on their feet. Barely. 

Once the ship had quit trembling, they straightened though Scotty kept her pinned in. He looked down at her and cleared his throat before giving her a little smile. "Montgomery Scott, Lass. Until recently of the Star Fleet outpost on Delta Vega. You can call me Scotty."

She smiled back feeling a little breathless. "Nicole Sparks, Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise. Call me Sparks or Sparkie. Everyone does."

***

The Enterprise survived the day and it wasn't long before she was ready to fly again. Kirk requested Scotty be assigned to the Enterprise. Nicole gladly stepped down to be Scotty's second. He could deal with the headaches that came with the paperwork and reports. That was beyond fine with her.

They'd become closer and flirted constantly, but it hadn't moved beyond that. Nicole was still waiting for him to ask her out. Keenser also came on board and got on famously with the female engineer much to Scotty's displeasure. It had taken all of half a day for them to team up against him.

He glanced around engineering as the Enterprise was preparing to launch but saw no sign of either of them. With a sigh, he looked up. Keenser was crouched on one of the overhead beams. Nicole was hanging upside above him as she showed him something on a PADD. 

"Oi," Scotty yelled. "Get down here, you two."

Sparks looked between him and the little alien. In unison they shook their heads. 

"We're good," she said. Keenser nodded once in agreement. 

Scotty ran a hand down his face. "This is going to be a bloody long voyage."


	17. Dive - Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Fic based on Dive by the lovely Ed Sheeran

Leonard McCoy had been in love with you from the moment he first saw you. But he was newly divorced and fragile. And something told him that you would be a forever kind of girl. He wasn't sure his heart was ready for forever just yet. He should have known Jim Kirk would befriend you as soon as possible.

__Maybe I came on too strong  
Maybe I waited too long  
Maybe I played my cards wrong  
Oh, just a little bit wrong  
Baby I apologize for it

It wasn't long before the three of you went everywhere together. You ignored Jim's constant flirting and Leo stared at you from afar, your every movement entrancing him. As time went by, he fell more and more in love with you but it only became harder for him to admit.  What if he lost you completely? He wasn't sure he could survive that.

__I could fall, or I could fly  
Here in your aeroplane  
And I could live, I could die  
Hanging on the words you say  
And I've been known to give my all  
And jumping in harder than  
Ten thousand rocks on the lake

And so it went until one fateful night. You were on shore leave from the Enterprise on a leisure class planet. Kirk always made certain the three of you were on the same rotation. As usual, you'd found your way to a local watering hole to get a drink. You had disappeared some time ago with Kirk to dance and Leo sat at the bar. "There you are, baby," he heard your voice and turned as you draped your arms around his neck. His hands found your hips by instinct. "Y/N?" he asked in surprise.

__So don't call me baby  
Unless you mean it  
Don't tell me you need me  
If you don't believe it  
So let me know the truth  
Before I dive right into you

You laughed and leaned against him. His heart raced as he tried to figure out what was going on. You were a bit tipsy but you'd never acted like this from just a few drinks before. You pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth before standing on your toes to whisper in his ear. Some guy was following you around, you said. Wasn't taking no for an answer. But Leo would rescue you and pretend he was yours, right? Of course, because the truth was, he was yours. You just didn't know it.

__You're a mystery  
I have travelled the world, there's no other girl like you  
No one, what's your history?  
Do you have a tendency to lead some people on?  
'Cause I heard you do, mm

Leo wrapped his arms around your waist and kept you pulled tightly against him. His chin rested on the top of your head and you sighed against him. You hadn't lied to Leo about the guy. Not really. There had been one earlier but Kirk had gotten rid of him easily. No, you just wanted an excuse to be close to him. Kirk told you Leo was in love with you. You just weren't certain if you should take the risk. It wouldn't be beyond Jim to think you and Leo belonged together and play matchmaker.

__I could fall, or I could fly  
Here in your aeroplane  
And I could live, I could die  
Hanging on the words you say  
And I've been known to give my all  
And lie awake, everyday don't know how much I can take

You yawned. "Could you take me to the hotel, Leo?" you asked, cringing at how needy you sounded. But he didn't seem to mind. He looked down at you and gave you that sweet smile of his. "Of course, darlin'." He stood and laced his fingers with yours to pull you through the club. When you finally made it outside, you kept hold of him wondering if he noticed. Or even cared.

__So don't call me baby  
Unless you mean it  
And don't tell me you need me  
If you don't believe it  
So let me know the truth  
Before I dive right into you

This night of pretending you were his only made everything so much worse. He hadn't thought it possible to fall any more in love with you than he already was but he was wrong. So, so wrong. He hadn't released your hand when you left the club but you didn't seem to notice. He led you to the hotel where you were both staying, his strides short, trying to prolong his time with you. You leaned your head against his arm as you walked and he smiled down at you. 

__I could fall, or I could fly  
Here in your aeroplane  
And I could live, I could die  
Hanging on the words you say  
And I've been known to give my all  
Sitting back, looking at every mess that I made

Your  room was down the hall from his. He waited until you unlocked your door and stepped inside before he turned to leave. "Stay." Your voice was so soft he wasn't sure he'd even heard correctly. He turned back with a frown. "What was that, sweetheart?" You cleared your throat. "Stay. With me. Please, Leo. I need you." 

__So don't call me baby  
Unless you mean it  
Don't tell me you need me  
If you don't believe it  
Let me know the truth  
Before I dive right into you

He cupped the side of your face in his hand. "Are you certain about this, Y/N?" You nodded eagerly. "If we do this you're mine, darlin'. Forever." You grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged him forward so you could slam your lips into his. "That's what I'm counting on, Doc." You pulled him into the room and shut the door behind him. You were both laughing as you tumbled onto the bed together.

_ Before I dive right into you  
Before I dive right into you _


	18. Jealousy - Spock

You hurried through the halls of the Enterprise. You were late and you despised being late. Not only because you were raised to be fifteen minutes early everywhere you went but because you would have to face the disappointed gaze of your commanding officer. Others would call you crazy to think Spock displayed any emotion, especially over something so small.

But you knew the Vulcan better than most. Or at least you liked to think so. You'd known him since the academy and the two of you had become friends, though that wouldn't be noticeable to most, you supposed. Spock by nature was quiet and reserved. The only outward nod to your friendship was the fact he took the liberty of calling you by your first name and you called him simply Spock. 

Your only saving grace for your tardiness today was that it was Kirk's fault. As usual. You swore the man ordered you to do mundane tasks right before your shift just so Spock would be annoyed when you were late. Fortunately, Spock seemed to be aware of this as well.

Your steps slowed as you rounded the corner and entered the hallway where the science labs were. Spock was meeting you there to demonstrate some tests he wished you to run on samples they'd recently collected. 

"Hey, Y/N," a deep voice drawled your name. 

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes before turning to greet your co-worker. Of course, he'd find you when you were already running behind. "Dane. I can't talk right now. I'm late to meet Commander Spock."

He smirked and placed his hand on the wall beside your head to lean into you. "Well, lucky for us, I just saw Spock in deep discussion with Dr. McCoy. So I'd say we've got some time."

You placed your palms on Dane's chest and shook your head. You pushed against him, but he didn't budge. "Seriously, Dane. I've got to go. Whether Spock is there or not, I'm already late for my shift."

"All right," he said, leaning back. "I know how you are about your schedule, but have dinner with me after your shift."

You crossed your arms over your chest and looked over the man in front of you. You had been turning him down for months. He was undoubtedly attractive in a rugged sort of way, and he was nice enough. You just didn't feel that spark around him. That spark you felt with Spock. If you were honest with yourself, you'd admit you had been telling Dane no because you secretly hoped Spock would see you as more than a friend. That just once he'd notice the extra effort you went to when you were sure of seeing him. You sighed. It had been four years. Surely if it was going to happen, it would have happened by now. 

You shrugged one shoulder and smiled. "All right, Dane. One dinner."

"Yes." He grinned and did a little fist pump. He grabbed your hand and pressed a small kiss to the back of it. "Until later, my lady."

A throat clearing caught your attention and you jerked your head toward the sound to find Spock looking between the two of you. One brow was lifted and, if you didn't know better, you would have said he was more than a little annoyed. "Forgive the intrusion but I believe we are supposed to be in a meeting right now, are we not, Lieutenant Y/L/N?"

Your cheeks heated and you knew they were a bright red. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," you mumbled and hurried to the lab. 

***

It was an hour past when your shift should have ended when you knocked on Spock's office door. 

"Enter."

You stepped inside careful to keep the irritation you currently felt for the Vulcan off your face. You handed over the results for the experiment you had just performed for the fourth time. Every time with the same results. 

Spock ran his eyes quickly over the numbers on the sheet you handed him then passed it back. "Again," he ordered and turned his attention to the forms on his desk. 

You didn't move from your spot as you continued to simply stare at your friend and commanding officer waiting for him to acknowledge your continued presence. Your entire day had been spent with him barely noticing you existed while you repeated the same stupid experiment over and over again.

"Is there something I can help you with, Lieutenant?" he finally asked without glancing up from his work.

You took a deep breath and dug up the little courage you had when it came to Spock. "No," you said.

He looked up then, arching that irritating brow again. "Then I suggest you return to your work. The more expedient you are, the faster you can get to your date."  The skin around his eyes tightened with the last word.

"I meant, no, I will not do the experiment again." 

He simply continued to stare at you. 

"This is ridiculous, Spock. You are throwing some kind of tantrum and I won't be part of it."

He rose to his full height then so he was gazing down at you. His tongue moistened his lips. "Would you care to repeat that, Lieutenant?"

You sat the PADD down on his desk with more force than necessary. "I am sorry that I was late this morning, but I have already completed the experiment four times with no change in results. There is no reason for me to perform it again unless you are punishing me. And as for my date that you seem so concerned about, it was dinner. With Dane of all people. It's already been cancelled. And my name is not Lieutenant, as you well know."

A noise came from the lab, reminding you that there were still workers in the outer room. Spock walked over and shut the door. He stood there for a moment before turning back to you. His dark eyes ran over you, studying you. "I was under the impression that you did not harbor romantic feelings for Lieutenant Jones."

"I don't. But he kept asking and no one else was, so l figured why not?" you said with a shrug. 

Spock scowled, the muscle in his jaw twitching with the action. "You were not concerned that your behavior may only encourage the Lieutenant's affections toward you?"

You threw your hands up in exasperation. "Why do you care, Spock? You never even paid a passing interest to who I dated before."

"If you have dated during the period of our friendship, I was not aware of it," he admitted. 

You raked a hand through your hair suddenly feeling very tired. "I'm going to go, Spock. We can start over tomorrow, okay?"

"No, Y/N. I don't think that is acceptable." His hands were behind his back as he closed the distance between the two of you. Your brow furrowed as you waited for him to explain what he meant. "I have recently come to the conclusion that I no longer desire our relationship to carry on in its present state."

"I don't understand--" you started only to be cut off by Spock's lips slamming into yours. His hands came up to frame your face and you leaned into him.

After a moment he pulled away and took a step back as he cleared his throat. "I apologize. That was inappropriate."

This time you were the one that initiated the kiss. Your fingers wove their way into his hair, holding him to you. You smiled against his lips when his body relaxed and his arms wrapped around you. 

As you took a break to breathe, Spock said, "Might I deduce from your reaction that my feelings are reciprocated?"

You arched a brow in a mirror of his usual expression. "Spock, I have been in love with you since the academy. For a being of superior intelligence, it certainly took you long enough to catch on."

"Yes, well I am part human," he said before his lips found yours once more.


	19. Torpedo 22- Kahn

Kahn had been operating on pure rage for far longer than was healthy. So many had fallen in his wrath, but it wasn't enough. Not yet. It would never be enough until he had you back. And now this Starfleet Captain and his officers acted as though they'd won something. As if he hadn't chosen to come along. Anything to be closer to you, though he feared you had not survived Marcus.

It hadn't taken him long to figure out Marcus's plan. All the clues were there if one knew the truth. If one knew the sinister lengths to which the man would go. Kahn paced his cell with slow deliberate steps as he considered how to bring you up to the captain. How he could plead for them to determine if you lived. He would do much to ensure you lived even if his own life was lost in the process. 

"Why is there a man in that torpedo?" Captain Kirk asked as he walked up to the cell.

Kahn jerked his head in that direction. "There are men and women in all of those torpedoes, Captain. I put them there."

"Who the hell are you?" 

"You think me arrogant when I say we are superior but that is what we are. What we were designed to be. Genetically engineered to bring peace to a planet at war. When they disapproved of our methods, they exiled us. For centuries we slept, hoping when we woke things would be different. That we could find a home. Instead, Starfleet discovered us and I alone was revived." Kahn resumed pacing.

"I looked up John Harrison. Until a year ago he didn't exist," the captain said. 

"John Harrison is a lie. A fabrication created by your Admiral Marcus when he woke me to advance his cause. My name is Kahn."

Kirk looked at him, gauging his honesty. "Why would a Starfleet admiral require help from a three hundred year old frozen man?"

"Because I am better."

"At what?"

"Everything. Alexander Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilized threat in a civilized time. For that he needed a warrior's mind. My mind. To design weapons and warships." Kahn spat the words angry and disgusted at what he had done. What he had been forced to do.

"You are suggesting the admiral violated every regulation he vowed to uphold simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect," the Vulcan said, obviously not willing to believe the deceitfulness of his admiral.

The corner of Kahn's mouth curved into a smirk. "He wanted to exploit my savagery. Intellect alone will not win a fight." He wanted to insult the man before him. Tell him how weak he was, but thoughts of you stayed his tongue. You never approved of him using his sharp wit on those that were undeserving. 

He turned his attention back to Kirk. "Marcus used me to design weapons. To help him realize his dream of a militarized Starfleet. He used you to get rid of the evidence. You were supposed to fire those torpedoes on an unsuspecting planet, ridding himself of me and my people." He sucked in a breath at the reminder of the man's cruelty. "And then he disabled your ship, knowing the Klingons would come looking for the culprit and you would be doomed. No longer his problem and he would have the war he wanted."

"No," Kirk suddenly yelled. "I saw you open fire into a room of unarmed Starfleet officers. You killed them in cold blood."

Kahn clenched his teeth and turned his back on the other two men. He knew he had acted rashly but he had seen no other solution at the time. "Marcus took my crew from me."

"You are a murderer," Kirk bit out.

"He used my friends to get me to do what he wished. To control me. Anytime I attempted to stand against him, he threatened her. He nearly killed her more than once." His heart clenched with the memory. 

"Her?" Kirk asked though Khan did not turn to face him.

"Y/N. My wife. It was my weakness that led him to her. I had to see her. So one night I did. When I arrived the next day she was gone. Taken I knew not where. Everyday of my existence from that point forward was lived in fear for her life." A tear rolled down his cheek and he cleared his throat. "When I discovered where he was keeping her, I took her. I attempted to smuggle them all out by placing them in the very weapons I had designed. But I was discovered and had no choice but to flee. Alone. I had every reason to suspect that Marcus had killed them. Killed her. So I responded in kind."

He turned to face them then, uncaring of the tears that still wet his face. "He told me they knew. When I threatened to go to the others, to reveal what he was up to, he laughed. He said they knew what he was doing. What I was doing. I had no reason to doubt him. Starfleet had taken my crew. They are my family. _She_ is my family. I placed her in torpedo 22 if you wish to verify my claims. She wears y/f/c and my name on her wrist. I would appreciate if you could tell me if she indeed lives or not."

He paced away from the glass again before turning back. "Consider Captain, is there anything you wouldn't do to protect your family? Anything you wouldn't do to avenge them?"

Kahn watched as the two men left no doubt to consider his words. They would find what he said was true soon enough. He sat on a low stool and buried his face in his hands. 

***

"Does she live?" It was the third time Khan had asked the question while Kirk talked. Every time the captain refused to answer, Khan was only more convinced that Marcus had killed you.

Khan sat on a bed in the medical bay surrounded by men with guns. Kirk stood in front of him after stating his case as to why Kahn should help him against Marcus. The captain's promise to keep Kahn's crew safe was hollow at best. He was no admiral. He had no ability to make promises about their long term well-being. Of course, Khan could offer his assistance then take over the Vengeance, use it to take his people to safety.

"Eventually you're going to have to learn to trust someone, Khan. The universe will destroy you if you don't," a soft voice said from behind him, making him freeze. He knew that voice and she's spoken those words to him before. Y/N.

*** 

You tilted your head as you looked over the captain and your husband. Khan had gone utterly still, his back straight. You knew he was afraid to turn and find you not really there. "I thought you dead," he finally forced out, his voice cracking. 

You met the captain's eye then looked back to your husband. "Not dead. Just tired." You moved around the table he sat on and the captain stepped back to allow you to get to him. 

Tears ran down his face and your heart broke just a little that he suffered so. You laid a hand against the side of his face. "I am here, my love."

He hopped down and his arms wrapped tightly around you, holding you to his chest. "My Y/N. I thought you lost forever." He kissed you then pulled back to look you over. "Why did you cease speaking with me?" 

"Marcus turned off the support system before thinking better of it. I was nearly gone when he turned it back on. I was weak and you were too far away," you explained only for him to kiss you again.

Khan looked past you to the captain. "You have brought her back to me. I will do as you ask."

"What did you mean about her speaking to you?" the one called Bones asked. He'd been very kind to you since you woke. 

You gave him a smile. "There are multiple ways to bring peace. My husband is a warrior. I was designed for other uses. I can influence people's emotions. I am also a telepath. Khan and I were still together though we slept. I control his savage nature. When Marcus separated us, he took away Khan's control."

"I don't believe you," the captain said. His eyes narrowed as he looked over the two of you.

 _Don't you?_ you asked silently. 

He stumbled back a step. "Holy shit. Do that again."

You smiled and Khan chuckled low in this throat. His hand ran up and down your back in a comforting gesture. He had always been proud and slightly in awe of your gifts. _Hello, Captain. Doctor. We have no quarrel with you. In fact, I have a proposition to make._

The men exchanged a look before turning to Khan. He smiled down at you then shrugged. "You will find, gentlemen, that now that my wife is awake, she is the one in charge. She is far more level headed than I."

The captain's gaze darted between the two of you. "All right, Y/N. Make it fast."

 

 


	20. Things I Hate About You - Spock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on the poem from 10 things I hate about you

**_ I hate the way you think you know everything and how arrogant you are _ **

It had all started with the Kobayashi Maru.

That stupid test. Most people just took it and failed. That's the way it was designed. The unwinnable scenario. But not your best friend, James Kirk. Oh no, he couldn't possibly lose at something. If he'd warned you he was going to cheat maybe you wouldn't have helped him that day. Or maybe you would have. You and Bones had been his crew in all the other attempts. Why should this one be any different?

You were annoyed with Jim for his little trick, there was no question about that. But it was Spock that made you furious. He decided that since you possessed excellent computer skills that you must have been the one to help Jim cheat. Not only that, but when you protested, he insinuated that you had helped Jim so that he would be interested in you. That was the moment you started to hate the Vulcan.

First, he accuses you of cheating, then he accuses you of trying to seduce your best friend. Perhaps the worst part of all of it was that he behaved as if there was no way Jim would be interested in you for any other reason. Not that you wanted Jim's attentions, but it was still insulting.

**_ I hate how superior you act, that's the worst thing by far. _ **

It only got worse from there. The day of Kirk's hearing when you had all been ordered to posts, he stopped you before you could board the Enterprise, insisting on double checking your assignment. 

You could still hear that clipped, annoying voice. "Are you certain you have been assigned to the Enterprise, Cadet Y/L/N? I do not believe that you possess the necessary character for such an assignment."

He may not like your attitude, but you were the top in your class and he knew it. When he punched you up on his PADD and found you were indeed on the Enterprise he'd simply looked you over before allowing you to pass without another word. You should have known better than to think you might actually get an apology.

"Pike requested me. And it's Lieutenant," you grumbled as you brushed by him.

**_ I hate the way you hate my friends and the way you yell my name _ **

Pike was gone. Taken by the enemy. Spock was in command. Almost immediately Jim started yelling at the Vulcan. While you agreed with his argument you didn't agree that yelling at Spock was going to get him anywhere. The man already hated Jim, he was hardly going to change his mind just because Kirk shouted at him. 

You and Bones tried to get Jim to calm down so things could be discussed rationally, but he ignored you both. You had intended to stay out of it, to keep your mouth shut and stay beneath your new captain's notice. But then Spock ordered Jim to be put off the ship and it was you Bones was trying to reason with. 

"You can't just put him off the ship because you don't like what he's saying. Put him in the brig if you want but this is crazy. What are you thinking? Are you even thinking? For a Vulcan you aren't being very--"

"Lieutenant Y/L/N!" he shouted, stopping your rant.

"What?" you yelled back.

"Unless you would care to join him, I suggest you desist."

Bone wrapped an arm around you and covered your mouth with his hand. "She's fine. Not another word."

**_ I hate you so much it makes me ill and drives me near insane _ **

"Your assistance is not required," Spock told you as you hurried after him and Jim. They were heading to the transporter room. 

"You are operating solely on the presumption that you being Vulcan will allow you to access the computer," you insisted. "I know more about computers than the two of you put together and you know it. I can figure out any computer, Romulan included."

"Think so, do you?" Kirk asked with an arched brow. 

Spock huffed a breath. "Her scores were the highest in decades at the Academy. She is undoubtedly capable, but I still believe it better for her to remain here."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm captain then. Welcome aboard, Y/N."

Your stomach churned with nerves and anticipation as you took your place on the pad behind Spock. You took the opportunity to stick your tongue out at the back of his head, earning a chuckle from Scotty. 

**_ I hate it when you're bossy and when you say goodbye _ **

As it turned out, your computer expertise wasn't needed. That would be because Scotty beamed you to a room full of Romulans instead of to the cargo hold as he'd intended to. The three of you made quick work of the enemy crew and Spock mind melded with one to obtain the info you sought. 

When you located the ship with the black hole device it greeted Spock by name. Kind of. "Ambassador Spock," the feminine computer voice filled the area. The two of you turned to look at Kirk who suddenly seemed to be trying to distract you. Obviously there was more going on here than he was willing to admit to. 

**_ I hate it when you smile and how you cannot lie _ **

You wanted to stay with Spock and help him navigate the ship. "I appreciate your desire to be of assistance, Lieutenant but your help is not required. Your aid will be of more use to the captain in his endeavor to retrieve Captain Pike."

"Kirk can shoot people without my help, Spock. What if the systems act up? What if you need to enter a calculation or some--"

He held up a hand to silence your rambling. The corner of his mouth quirked up in what could only be called a smile. "I am ordering you to assist the captain in retrieving Captain Pike. Our plan only has a 4% chance of success, but calculations indicate, oddly enough, that the safest place for you to be is with Captain Kirk."

You shook your head as Kirk called for you to hurry up from his location outside the ship. "We need to work on your people skills, Spock. Next time just say, 'see you soon'. It makes everyone feel better than '4% chance of success'."

"Indeed," the Vulcan agreed as he took his seat and you hurried from the craft.

**_ I hate the way you look at me and the way you made me fall _ **

From that point forward you were rushing from one place to another. You barely had a moment to breathe until you were back on Earth. And you didn't see Spock again until he became first officer. As he walked past you to take his station, he gave you a small smirk and a nod. Your brow furrowed as you followed him with your gaze, wondering at the little flutter in your belly. 

That little flutter grew into a full blown flurry over the next several weeks. Every time you saw Spock he'd give you a little smile or a nod. Occasionally a quiet "Lieutenant." When you blushed or stuttered he'd arch a brow and say, "Interesting."

**_ But most of all I hate the fact that you're so damn tall. _ **

And so it went until you found yourself in the lift with the Vulcan and two security officers. The lift slid to a stop and the security officers exited. When the door shut, Spock closed the distance between the two of you. 

"Lieutenant Y/L/N, it has come to my attention that I have developed what might be considered affectionate feelings toward you. At the captain's suggestion I am inquiring as to whether you might wish to have dinner with me this evening?"

You looked up at the science officer in surprise. This was certainly not what you were expecting to happen today. To be honest, you were shocked into silence.

Spock took your silence to mean something else entirely. "I apologize if you do not share in my affections--"

You cut him off by standing on your toes and pressing your lips to his. He froze for a moment then returned the gesture. His hands found your waist and as you pulled away from each other he smiled. One brow arched. "Is that a yes to joining me for dinner, Lieutenant?" 

You grabbed the front of his uniform and tugged him toward you. "Just bend down and kiss me, Spock. You're too damn tall."

He followed your orders without hesitation.


	21. requests closed

Thank you for all the requests. I look forward to writing them!!


	22. Irreplaceable - Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader is dealing with uncontrolled depression and anxiety. Do not read if this will bother you.

He didn’t mean anything by it. You knew he didn’t, but that didn’t stop the tears from coming just the same. Things had been kind of shitty lately if you were honest. And you’d been dealing, you had. Sure you had some days that were worse than others but you were chugging along. You plastered a fake smile on your face and went about your day. And if anyone asked you were fine. Just fine.

Things were slow in the med bay last week and you’d taken the opportunity to reorganize the supplies. It took you awhile, but you were methodical, taking a special pride in your work as you always did when you were in a slump. And you should be proud. You’d shoved aside all of your doubts and anxieties to accomplish something that would have been hard if you were at full operating status.

So, when you overheard Bones complaining to one of the nurses about how horrible your new system was, you supposed you could be forgiven for taking it personally. Especially when he announced that he wished you’d just leave things alone. After all, if he only gave you a chance to explain you could have told him why you moved things around the way you did. It was so much more efficient this way. He only needed to get used to it.

But it didn’t matter. Not really. You didn’t blame Bones for being upset with you. You always screwed everything up. You didn’t mean to. You wanted to make things better for people, to show them you cared by doing things for them, but you just fucked everything up. Most of the time you figured you could disappear and no one would notice.

And that’s just what you intended to do. You bypassed Bones and went straight to the captain with your request. The Enterprise would be docking at a space port soon and you wanted permission to stay behind.

Kirk frowned at you as he read over the request for the third time. “Why do you want to leave the ship, Y/N? Did something happen that I don’t know about?”

You bit your lip as you looked down and shook your head. “I just think it would be better for everyone if I went somewhere else for a while. There’s a Federation medical facility at the port that has an opening.”

His bright blue eyes studied you for a long moment. “You’ve really thought about this.”

“Yes.”

“And what did Bones say about it?”

You sucked in a breath. “I’d rather not discuss it with him if it’s all the same to you.”

He shook his head and passed your PADD back to you. “I’ll sign off on the transfer if that’s what you really want, but not until you tell Bones.”

“But—”

He waved a hand through the air to cut off your protest. “I don’t want to hear it, Y/N. He is your immediate superior and if you have an issue, it should be addressed with him before we resort to reassigning you. You are an important member of our crew.”

You huffed a laugh. “We both know that’s not true, Captain. Anyone could do what I do. No one will even notice when I’m gone.” You turned and left without being dismissed, a hollow feeling in your chest. You were so focused on what you were going to say to your boss, you didn’t even notice the captain’s worried gaze.

***

You just didn’t have it in you to go by the medbay. You knew you should talk to Bones before he spoke with Kirk but it just seemed like too much effort. He’d probably be relieved to have you out from underfoot. Maybe he’d sign off without too much hassle if you offered to put the supply closet back the way it was before you left.

When you got to your room, you glanced at the replicator as you passed by but decided against eating anything. That, too, seemed like too much effort. You’d rather just lay on your couch. You placed your PADD on the table before crawling onto the small sofa and laying on your side with your knees pulled up to your chest. You weren’t sure how much time had passed before the knock came at your door. You glanced at it but stayed where you were. “Yeah?”

“Open the door, Y/L/N.” You’d know that pissed off southern accent anywhere. Evidently the doctor had talked to the captain.

“I’m good, thanks,” you called back.

He grumbled but you couldn’t make out what he was saying. “I hope you’re decent because I’m coming in anyway, Y/N.”

You scowled as the door slid open to admit him and pushed yourself up so you were no longer laying down. “I’m not due on shift for another twelve hours, doctor. What can I do for you?”

“You can explain to me why I had to hear from Jim that my best nurse wants off the ship.”

You shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it.

Bones sighed and sat on the table in front of you. He took your hands in his. “Sweetheart, what is going on with you? Did something happen I need to know about? You haven’t been yourself for weeks.”

You shook your head but a tear ran down your cheek.

“Is this about a guy? A girl?”

You shook your head again. If only life were that simple. If your biggest problem was some guy pissing you off. No, Bones didn’t piss you off, he just didn’t see beyond you being a nurse. His thumbs ran over your knuckles. “Come on, Y/N. Talk to me.”

You pulled your hands from him and curled back up on the couch. “Why does it matter, Len? We’ll get to the port and I’ll leave. No one will be bothered by me any longer and you can get a new nurse. You all won’t even remember my name by the end of the week.”

“If you really think that, we’re doing something wrong that’s for damn sure.” Something in the tone of his voice had you glancing up at him. He looked so upset, as if he were on the verge of tears himself.

“Anyone could be here instead of me and it wouldn’t matter. I’m replaceable and you know it.”

“I know no such thing,” he barked out before burying his face in his hands. “How did I fuck this up so monumentally?” His voice was muffled, but you made out the words easy enough.

“If it will make it easier, I can put the supplies back the way they were before I go,” you offered.

That got his attention. His head jerked up. “Don’t you dare. It took me a bit to figure it out, but the new system is brilliant.”

You couldn’t stop the smile in response to his words. “Thanks.” You had divided the supplies up which was what drove him nuts in the beginning but now, everything was grouped together according to procedure. So instead of going to different drawers and cabinets to get what was needed. It was one shelf or one drawer.

He stood and began to pace the floor. You just followed his path with your eyes and waited for him to say what he came here to say. After a moment he came to kneel beside the couch and brushed the hair away from your face. “I’m going to tell you something that I maybe should have told you a long time ago. I didn’t because, well, I didn’t want to change things between us. But now you’re trying to leave me anyway and I guess it just really doesn’t matter anymore does it.”

Your eyes widened the longer he went on but you stayed silent.

“I don’t want you to leave, Y/N. When I say you’re my best nurse, it’s not flattery. I mean it. You are intuitive and have come up with treatments before I even considered them. And you take care of things before I even realize they’re an issue.”

His hand found yours and wrapped around it before he continued. “Beyond that, I don’t want you to leave because you’re the only thing keeping me sane out here. The knowledge that I get to see you is what gets me out of bed in the morning, sweetheart. I live for the moments I steal with you.”

You pushed yourself up on one elbow. “What are you trying to say, Leonard?”

“Damn it, Y/N. I’m trying to say that I love you. Please stay with me. Tell me what’s going on so I can fix it and stay.” He was nearly begging by the end.

You suddenly found it hard to breathe. “You aren’t just saying that to get me to stay, are you?” Bones wasn’t that kind of guy, but it was so hard to believe that he wanted you like you did him.

“Actually, I hadn’t said anything because I was afraid it would chase you off,” he admitted.  

You launched yourself forward and threw your arms around his neck. He rocked back with a grunt then wrapped his arms around you to hold you close. He sighed and buried his face in the crook of your neck.

“You could never chase me off, Len. And for the record, I love you too.”

He pulled back to look at you and cradled your face in his hands. He searched your eyes as if making sure you were telling the truth. “Well, if I’m not running you off, darlin’, what is?”

You leaned back on the couch with a sigh. He might say that he loved you but when he discovered how fucked up you were, he was going to be the one running away. “I’m a mess, Leonard. Everything I touch I fuck up. It’s better for everyone if I leave.”

He started to protest and you sucked in a breath as you held up a hand. “No. Don’t. That’s not right. That’s…” You didn’t even know how to go about explaining this to him. How you felt these things even if you knew they weren’t true.  “Have you ever read my records?”

 His brow furrowed. “That would be an invasion of your privacy. M’Benga’s your doctor.”

You waved a hand in the direction of your PADD. “Just read them. It’ll be easier.”

He frowned but grabbed the device and pulled up the information. As he read through your history, his gaze kept darting up to you then back to the PADD. Once he’d finished, he sat it to the side. “Why didn’t you say anything, Y/N? I would have been keeping a better eye on you. Or intervened sooner. Depression and anxiety isn’t anything to be ashamed of, sweetheart. In fact, I’m proud you’ve been doing as well as you have.”

You bit your lip. “You really mean that?”

“Of course, I do.” He took your hands in his again. “I do think you should talk to M’Benga about the dosage on your meds though. It’s been awhile and there are new treatments that you haven’t tried. I just want you to have the chance to be the best you, darlin’.”

You took a breath and nodded. Messing with your meds was always a pain, but Len was right. It would be worth it if it helped. “Thanks, Len. For everything.”

He arched a brow. “Does this mean you’re staying?”

“Yeah. I’m staying.”

His hands cupped your face as he leaned forward and kissed you on the lips. He pulled away much sooner than you wished but there would be time for that later. “Now, if you’re up to it, I would like to take you dinner in the mess hall so I can make it clear you’re taken.”

Your lips twitched as you fought a smile. “Okay, but I don’t think anyone is going to care, Len.”

He growled. “You really think those damn red shirts are as clumsy as they make out? We get twice as many when you’re on shift.”

You blinked several times, not sure what to make of his statement. You’d never particularly noticed an influx of red shirts when you were on shift. But then again all of your attention had been on a certain doctor. They’d never stood a chance.

Bones stood and helped you to your feet before pulling you into a hug. “God, this feels good. And well overdue. We’ll get you taken care of, sweetheart. In the meantime, you just let me know if you’re having a bad day, okay?”

“Thank you, Leonard, for being willing to deal with all this.”

He leaned back and looked at you. “Thank you for trusting me with it. It will be my honor to take care of you. Now let’s go get some dinner.”

And suddenly, you were starving.


	23. Seen - Spock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a request on wattpad. Song 1:Invisible by Anna Clendening; Song 2: Wanted by Hunter Hayes; Song 3: Let Me Love the Lonely by James Arthur. Enjoy!

Your skills were legendary on the Enterprise. You could fix most anything and do it quickly and efficiently. In fact, you were often requested specifically. Not by your name or anything. Usually it was more along the lines of _the quiet one_ , _her over there_ or _you know, that one girl._ Regardless, Scotty knew who they meant and if you were available, he sent you off with a sigh.

Truth was, you preferred those little jobs that got you out and about on the ship where you didn’t really have to work with anyone and could get lost in your own head. You were glad to have found your place on the ship. Even if you didn’t have the all the friendships or the relationship you craved, you were needed, wanted.

At the moment, your head was buried in the wall of the ship as you worked on some hard to reach wiring in an isolated hallway. You started to sing old Earth music to yourself as you worked.

 _I'm in love with someone who doesn't know I exist_  
I stare from afar in my hand-broken heart while I play pretend  
I'm in love with someone who doesn't know I exist  
And it's you, yes, it's true, you don't even know it, I can't ever win

As your voice faded with the last word, you heard a noise in the hall. Your brow furrowed as you finished soldering the last two wires and pulled your head from the panel. You glanced around, but there was no sign of anyone else around. This wasn’t the first time in recent weeks that you’d had the feeling of being watched only to find nothing when you checked. You made a mental note to discuss it with Scotty but you’d forget, just as you had all the other times.

***

Two days later, you were calibrating some equipment in the lab. It was routine maintenance that you performed every few months or whenever Spock asked. He wouldn’t allow anyone but you touch the equipment. According to him, you were the only engineer that understood the delicacy required for Scientific study. The corner of your mouth curled up as you remembered the last time Scotty had tried to send someone besides you.

You glanced over to the window of Spock’s office. He was the only one in the lab with you, but he had holed up in his office and was working diligently on his PADD. You were hoping he’d come out and talk to you as he usually did. He was one of the few on the ship you’d consider a true friend. In fact, he was your best friend. The two of you had spent hours discussing so many topics you couldn’t even keep count of them anymore. It seemed he was too busy to spend time with you today, though. With a sigh, you went back to your work. You began to hum which soon turned into singing. You looked up once to make sure you weren’t disturbing Spock before continuing.

 _'Cause I wanna wrap you up_  
Wanna kiss your lips  
Won’t you make me feel wanted  
And I wanna call you mine  
Wanna hold your hand forever  
And never let you forget it  
Yeah, won’t you make me feel wanted

Those weren’t the exact words, but they were the ones you’d come to use over time. They just fit. As you finished up, you glanced over one more time to find Spock still at his desk though he appeared to be in contemplation rather than working at the moment. You rapped lightly on his door on the way by.

“Enter.”

You opened the door and smiled at him. “All done.”

“Thank you, Y/N.”

“Did you want to double-check anything?” you asked.

He pursed his lips. “I do not believe that is necessary. I have never had reason to question your work.”

That was high praise coming from the Vulcan. “All right, Spock. I’ll see you later, I guess.”

He went very still and arched a brow. “May I assume from your statement that you will not be in attendance this evening?”

You frowned. Tonight? Suddenly, it dawned on you what this evening was. Once a month, there was a crew bonding event. It was something Kirk started though you had no idea why. It was more talent show than anything else. Spock was required to attend and you had tagged along often enough, it was kind of a ritual by now. You shook your head. “No, I forgot the date. I’ll be there. Save me a seat if I’m late?”

“Of course.”

It wasn’t as if you had anything else to do, and there was always the possibility that Kirk would get drunk and sing again.

***

You had actually managed to get off shift on time for once and now found yourself at a table with Spock, Kirk, Bones and Scotty. As usual, you sat between your boss and your best friend with your fingers wrapped around a glass of scotch. At least it was the real stuff tonight and not the replicated crap you usually had to drink. Thank you, Scotty.

“I believe we are next, Y/N,” Spock announced.

“What?”

He turned to look at you then, his brows lifted lightly as if surprised to be questioned. “Our performance is next.”

You raised your glass and examined the contents wondering what Scotty put in your drink.

The Scot chuckled beside you. “There’s nothing wrong with your drink, lass. You heard him correctly.”

Pure panic shot through you as you leaned toward Spock. “Are you out of your mind? What exactly are we supposed to be doing?”

“I will play my lute and you will sing, of course.”

“I can’t sing, Spock,” you hissed at him.

“On the contrary, you sing quite well, Y/N.” Before you could argue any further, he stood and made his way to the little stage. Uhura brought him his lute and gave you a little wave before hurrying off with a giggle.

“Get up there, Y/L/N. That’s an order.” You didn’t care much for the spark of amusement in Kirk’s eyes and rolled your own when you stood to obey him.

Spock nodded as you joined him and took your spot at the microphone. “You are in so much trouble, Vulcan.”

“I anticipated such a response. You should know that the song was chosen with you in mind. You will do fine, Y/N.” You weren’t sure if he truly meant to be comforting or not, but you did feel some of the anxiety leave you at his announcement. You took a breath in an attempt to calm yourself further. It wasn’t as if everyone here hadn’t heard you sing already when you were repairing one thing or another.

You gave Spock a nod to let him know you were ready. As his fingers plucked the strings, it didn’t take you long to recognize the song despite how different it sounded. You sucked in a breath and darted your gaze over to Spock. He said he’d picked the song with you in mind. What had he meant by that?

The corner of Spock’s mouth curled up as he played the first verse again since you had completely missed your entrance. This time, you hit it perfectly.

 _You laugh at all the jokes_  
Even the ones you know  
Funny I'm doing that, too  
Alone in a crowded room  
The one string that's out of tune  
Trust me, I feel like that, too

It didn’t take you long to get lost in the music. The words dripping with the loneliness you felt every damn day of your life. You kept your eyes closed as you sang and just let yourself feel.

 

 _Let me love the lonely out of you_  
Let me love the pain you're going through  
I think I'll save myself by saving you  
Let me love the lonely out of you

How many times had you wished for someone to say something similar to you? To tell you that they understood and you no longer had to be alone?

 

 _Lighthouse without the lights_  
You smile without your eyes  
I know, 'cause I do that too  
Your own worst enemy  
You think that no one sees  
I do, 'cause I'm like that too

Your mind couldn’t help but drift to Spock’s earlier words. Had he selected this song because it suited your voice or because he saw you? Saw that part you tried so hard to keep hidden from everyone else?

 

 _Let me love the lonely out of you_  
Let me love the pain you're going through  
I think I'll save myself by saving you  
Let me love the lonely out of you

_Oh, we can light a fire to warm our bones, yeah  
This world is much too cold to sleep alone_

_Let me love the lonely out of you_  
Let me love the pain you're going through  
I think I'll save myself by saving you  
Let me love the lonely out of you

_Let me love the lonely out of you_  
Let me love the pain you're going through  
Think I'll save myself by saving you  
Let me love the lonely out of you

 

By the end of the song, there were tears in your eyes. And you’d lost at least a few down your cheeks, as well. It was one of those songs you just couldn’t help but feel in your heart as you performed. There was a long beat of silence after you sang the last note before everyone broke into applause.

You opened your eyes to find the crew on their feet. You laughed in surprise and relief. Spock’s gaze was heavy on you, but you didn’t look at him. You didn’t dare, afraid he would see how much you wanted him to be the one to love you.

When you stepped off the stage, Uhura wrapped you in a hug. “That was amazing, Y/N. I’d heard you sing when you were working before but I had no idea. That was fantastic.”

“Thank you,” you said as you released her.

Bones threw an arm around your shoulder and tugged you into his side. “Who knew a quiet little thing like you had that in her? Nicely done, Y/L/N.”

You shook your head at his antics. “Thank you, doctor. I’m going to grab a water from the bar. I’ll be back.”

“Of course, darlin,” he responded. As he moved back to the table, you heard the others ask where you were going.

It felt like it took forever for you to reach the end of the bar as you were stopped multiple times on the way there. Finally, you settled onto a stool and ordered a water. You drank it quickly and passed the glass back to be refilled. This time you just sat for a moment and stared at the condensation on the outside of the glass. You needed a minute to center yourself.

A familiar blue uniform entered your peripheral vision as Spock sat beside you. “Are you quite alright, Y/N?”

Your lips twisted in a little smile at that. “Yeah, I’m fine, Spock.”

“Then why will you not look at me?”

You ran a finger around the rim of your glass and glanced at him from the corner of your eye. “When you said you picked that song for me, how did you mean that?”

“I meant that the song was the perfect pitch for you.”

Your heart sank. That’s what you’d suspected, but you hoped you were wrong.

Suddenly, Spock placed his first two fingers against the back of your hand as it rested on the bar. You froze, your eyes locked on the gesture of affection from the Vulcan. “It also conveyed a message that I seemed to be unable to say myself despite many attempts to do so.”

You looked at him then and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. “Do you mean that?” you couldn’t help but ask.

He nodded once. “It is my intention that you never feel invisible or unwanted again, Y/N.”

You grinned then and leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”

The tips of his ears took on a slight greenish tint and you chuckled.

Still grinning, you stood and leaned closer to his ear. “Brace yourself, Spock. I’m about to do something scandalous.”

His mouth opened, but before he could voice his protest, you took his hand fully in yours and dragged him back to the table. He was as green as a seasick sailor by the time you rejoined your friends.


	24. fic/requests update

Star Trek

  * Spock – Combining a request for a wife reader and a hurt comfort fic. Status: Plotted
  * Khan – With Spock’s human half-sister. Spock is going to lose his mind. Status: Think mode
  * Bones x injured reader Status: semi-plotted
  * Kirk x female captain (native American reader) Status: will probably pull a plot idea from my list
  * Scotty x space pirate – um…yes please. Status: No idea but it will be epic.



Not doing:

  * Spock w suicidal/depressed reader – too sad for me right now.
  * Jealous Spock – already have one and don’t feel I could do another justice.
  * Spock x daughter – no idea what I would write for this.




End file.
